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How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights is Tearing America Apart

Jamal Greene argues that the system of legal absolutism distorts our law.
Jamal Greene argues that the system of legal absolutism distorts our law.

Jamal Greene is Dwight Professor of Law at Columbia Law School and author of the book "How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights is Tearing America Apart." His work reveals how our approach to rights is dividing America and shows how we can build a better system of justice.

Rights are a sacred part of American identity. Yet they also are the source of some of our greatest divisions. The varying responses to preventative measures enacted to stem the COVID-19 pandemic is a clear example of these divisions—especially today as students return to in-classroom instruction.

Jamal Greene argues that the system of legal absolutism distorts our law, debases our politics, and exacerbates our differences rather than helping to bridge them.

So how do we rethink our relationship with constitutional law, recover America’s original vision of rights, while also updating them to confront the challenges of the twenty-first century?

Jamal Greene
Dwight Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, author of "How Rights Went Wrong: Why Our Obsession with Rights Is Tearing America Apart"

Ayesha Bell Hardaway
Associate Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University

Cynthia Connelly
Director of Programming, The City Club of Cleveland

Natalia Garcia is a digital producer for the education team at Ideastream Public Media.