Includes bibliographical references (pages [246]-268) and index.

Introduction: The morals of the market -- 'The central values of civilization are in danger' -- There is no such thing as 'the economy': on social and economic rights -- Neoliberalism, human rights and the 'shabby remnants of colonial imperialism' -- Human rights in Pinochet's Chile: the dethronement of politics -- Powerless companions or fellow travelers? Human rights and the neoliberal assault on post-colonial economic justice -- Afterword: Human rights, neoliberalism and economic inequality today -- Acknowledgements -- Bibliography -- Index.

Uncovers the place of human rights in neoliberal attempts to develop a moral framework for a market society. In the wake of the Second World War, neoliberals saw demands for new rights to social welfare and self-determination as threats to 'civilisation'. Yet, rather than rejecting rights, they developed a distinctive account of human rights as tools to depoliticise civil society, protect private investments and shape liberal subjects. Whyte demonstrates the importance of coming to terms with these origins. Unless that is done, she argues, those who mobilize human rights to contest neoliberalism may instead find that they strengthen its hold. --From publisher description.