Exit Hercules: Ronald Dworkin and the Crisis of the Age of Rights

Abstract

This paper singles out the late Ronald Dworkin as the legal and politicalphilosopher who best interpreted and represented the rise, success and fall of the age of rights. Three pillars are central to the age of rights: a strong liberal agenda, a powerful judi-ciary capable of quashing legislation incompatible with rights, and a coherent theory singling out the special moral primacy of rights. Each one of these pillars, which are central to the thought of Dworkin, are now being challenged; this contributes to the explanation of the root causes of the crisis of the age of rights.