Basic Rights in Utopia – A dangerous proposal has been made to expand the European Union Charter

Written by Christoph Yube in Mandiner Weekly.

New European fundamental rights are demanded in a recently published statement by German lawyer and public writer Ferdinand von Scherach, Gieder Minsch (All People). According to the appeal, the lawyer will add fifty-four articles to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union with six new fundamental rights. These include a healthy human environment, digital self-determination or fair access to products and services produced.

Another historic turning point?
Von Schirach argues that this is necessary because the drafting of the charter brought together the basic rights that stem from the traditions of the European Constitution to date, but the decades since then have brought about a lot of change. The fathers and mothers of ancient European constitutions did not know the internet and social media, and they knew nothing about globalization, the power of algorithms, artificial intelligence and climate change. We did not even anticipate the dangers we face today. […] Today we have to decide once again who we want to be. “ However, compared to Jeder Mensch submitting an online petition that is accessible to everyone, Von Schirach warns in one place that ‘Absolute and direct democracy would be very dangerous. “ Regarding the current situation, he envisions an almost historic turning point, as represented by the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America in 1776 and the Declaration of Human and Civil Rights in France in 1789.

According to the Austrian file it looks like it is “Ferdinand von Schirach will feel compelled to make the future better.”. Family traditions can encourage this in two ways, as they have famous and notorious ancestors. Through his family, his great-grandmother is linked to Arthur Middleton, one of the founding fathers who signed the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776. His paternal grandfather was none other than the National Socialist politician Dor von Scherach, convicted at the Nuremberg trial, who ordered the deportation of the Jewish population as the imperial governor of Vienna.

A healthy environment and an absolute truth
It is especially interesting to imagine fulfilling subjective rights in the six points, such as trying to reach agreement between ten, twenty, one hundred or more people about what they consider to be a healthy and protected environment.

Article 4 always demands state leaders and politicians “As the truth” Making a statement is very exciting. Especially when you think about what it would be like to expand this to include all advertising and marketing materials other than politicians, daily business negotiation tricks, and even information asymmetry between boss and subordinate. Or if we imagine for a moment that accountability for truth will not only work at the local level, but also, for example, on the Hungarian-Portuguese or Estonian-German lines between citizens and state officials. The only thing about western thinking “Reality” This concept is quite cognitively problematic. Attempts, in the past, against this tradition, to decide with a word of force what the only truth is, usually led to totalitarianism.

Attempts to decide, with a word of strength, what is the only truth, usually led to totalitarianism. “

Point 6 regarding legal enforcement of cases raises very important questions. “You have the right to sue European courts to impose it.” Does this mean that everyone can sue all member states before European courts, or even the European Union itself, for violating an article of the charter in one of its member states? But who offended you? Or can a person sue even in the absence of specific participation?

In opening: Ambrosius Holbein: Full Fire Rafael tells Tamás Morus about Utopia (illustration from Tamás Morus Utopia’s book, 1518) Photo: Wikipedia