General considerations on fundamental social rights

Abstract

This paper presents considerations on the concept of fundamental social rights, such as those which require positive action on the part of the Public Administration to guarantee satisfactory life conditions to all. In the introduction, Donnely, Laporta and Noriega’s classifications are presented; then the constitutional definition of the theme in Spain is discussed to build the concept of congenial freedom as the starting point to criticize positions at the far right or the far left, showing that it is necessary to recognize congenial freedom as the mechanism to understand fundamental rights, even if it may seem a contradictory concept. Once the concept has been presented, the thesis that fundamental social rights are simply political and economic policies, or political targets, is critized. Fundamental social rights are fundamental individual rights that must be recognized. That is, fundamental individual rights or fundamental social rights are indissociable. Finally, the limits of the concept of fundamental social rights are discussed based on the study of juridical concepts regarding general rights, fundamental rights and basic lega positions.