Laura Valentini
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199593859
- eISBN:
- 9780191731457
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593859.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
While the lives of millions of people are overshadowed by poverty and destitution, a relatively small subset of the world’s population enjoys an unprecedented level of wealth. No doubt the world’s ...
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While the lives of millions of people are overshadowed by poverty and destitution, a relatively small subset of the world’s population enjoys an unprecedented level of wealth. No doubt the world’s rich have a duty to address the plight of the global poor. But are these duties of egalitarian justice to be considered much like those applying domestically, or as weaker duties of humanitarian assistance? This book begins by offering an in-depth critique of the two most prominent answers to this question – cosmopolitanism and statism – and then develops a novel normative framework for addressing it. Central to this framework is the idea that, unlike duties of assistance – which bind us to help the needy – duties of justice place constraints on the ways we may legitimately coerce one another. Because coercion exists domestically as well as internationally, duties of justice apply to both realms. However, as the forms of coercion characterizing these two realms differ, the content of duties of justice varies across them. Unlike statism and cosmopolitanism, the proposed normative framework successfully meets the joint desiderata of (a) consistency with liberal values and (b) capacity to guide action, and steers a middle course between these two views. Given the nature of existing international coercion, on this framework, global justice requires more than statist assistance, yet less than full cosmopolitan equality.Less
While the lives of millions of people are overshadowed by poverty and destitution, a relatively small subset of the world’s population enjoys an unprecedented level of wealth. No doubt the world’s rich have a duty to address the plight of the global poor. But are these duties of egalitarian justice to be considered much like those applying domestically, or as weaker duties of humanitarian assistance? This book begins by offering an in-depth critique of the two most prominent answers to this question – cosmopolitanism and statism – and then develops a novel normative framework for addressing it. Central to this framework is the idea that, unlike duties of assistance – which bind us to help the needy – duties of justice place constraints on the ways we may legitimately coerce one another. Because coercion exists domestically as well as internationally, duties of justice apply to both realms. However, as the forms of coercion characterizing these two realms differ, the content of duties of justice varies across them. Unlike statism and cosmopolitanism, the proposed normative framework successfully meets the joint desiderata of (a) consistency with liberal values and (b) capacity to guide action, and steers a middle course between these two views. Given the nature of existing international coercion, on this framework, global justice requires more than statist assistance, yet less than full cosmopolitan equality.
Matthew Clayton
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199268948
- eISBN:
- 9780191603693
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199268940.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter offers an account of political or citizenship education. It argues that a central feature of citizenship education in a liberal society is the development of a sense of justice, and the ...
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This chapter offers an account of political or citizenship education. It argues that a central feature of citizenship education in a liberal society is the development of a sense of justice, and the virtues of civility and reciprocity that are constitutive of that sense. The discussion begins with the analysis of Brighouse’s consent-based objections to the shaping of political motivations. An alternative political motivation model is defended, which draws on Rawls’s account of the natural duty of justice. The aims of political education, with respect to the skills, attitudes and values of liberal citizens, are briefly discussed. Education for justice rejects the view that political education should seek to cultivate a sense of nationality. The aims of political education in the context of questions about global justice are considered. Certain educational issues that arise in the non-ideal world from the point of view of developing a sense of justice are addressed.Less
This chapter offers an account of political or citizenship education. It argues that a central feature of citizenship education in a liberal society is the development of a sense of justice, and the virtues of civility and reciprocity that are constitutive of that sense. The discussion begins with the analysis of Brighouse’s consent-based objections to the shaping of political motivations. An alternative political motivation model is defended, which draws on Rawls’s account of the natural duty of justice. The aims of political education, with respect to the skills, attitudes and values of liberal citizens, are briefly discussed. Education for justice rejects the view that political education should seek to cultivate a sense of nationality. The aims of political education in the context of questions about global justice are considered. Certain educational issues that arise in the non-ideal world from the point of view of developing a sense of justice are addressed.
Andrew Kuper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199274901
- eISBN:
- 9780191601552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274908.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Develops a cosmopolitan theory of global justice, in critical dialogue with John Rawls’s The Law of Peoples. Kuper argues that Rawls has begged some of the central questions of global justice by ...
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Develops a cosmopolitan theory of global justice, in critical dialogue with John Rawls’s The Law of Peoples. Kuper argues that Rawls has begged some of the central questions of global justice by adopting a ‘thin statist’ conception of legitimate global order. Thus, Rawls effectively supports a system of unitary nation-states with limited sovereignty, while Kuper rejects this idea in favour of multi-level and multi-type political institutions. Similarly, Rawls disavows free speech and democratic rights at the global level, while Kuper establishes that they are fundamental requirements of global justice. Kuper then proposes a new notion of ‘plurarchic sovereignty’ governed by Principles of Democracy and Subsidiarity. Important practical implications are demonstrated in three areas: economic development, the rules of engagement with illiberal states, and the use of force in humanitarian intervention.Less
Develops a cosmopolitan theory of global justice, in critical dialogue with John Rawls’s The Law of Peoples. Kuper argues that Rawls has begged some of the central questions of global justice by adopting a ‘thin statist’ conception of legitimate global order. Thus, Rawls effectively supports a system of unitary nation-states with limited sovereignty, while Kuper rejects this idea in favour of multi-level and multi-type political institutions. Similarly, Rawls disavows free speech and democratic rights at the global level, while Kuper establishes that they are fundamental requirements of global justice. Kuper then proposes a new notion of ‘plurarchic sovereignty’ governed by Principles of Democracy and Subsidiarity. Important practical implications are demonstrated in three areas: economic development, the rules of engagement with illiberal states, and the use of force in humanitarian intervention.
Kok-Chor Tan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199588855
- eISBN:
- 9780191738586
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588855.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This book is a critical survey of the following three questions of egalitarian distributive justice. where does distributive equality matter? Why does it matter? And among whom does it matter? These ...
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This book is a critical survey of the following three questions of egalitarian distributive justice. where does distributive equality matter? Why does it matter? And among whom does it matter? These questions may be referred to, respectively, as the questions of the site, ground, and scope of distributive equality. The book defends an institutional site for egalitarian justice, a luck eglitarian ideal of why equality matters, and the idea that the scope of distributive justice is global. The account of equality proposed in this work may be described as “institutional luck egalitarianism” that is global in scope.Less
This book is a critical survey of the following three questions of egalitarian distributive justice. where does distributive equality matter? Why does it matter? And among whom does it matter? These questions may be referred to, respectively, as the questions of the site, ground, and scope of distributive equality. The book defends an institutional site for egalitarian justice, a luck eglitarian ideal of why equality matters, and the idea that the scope of distributive justice is global. The account of equality proposed in this work may be described as “institutional luck egalitarianism” that is global in scope.
Simon Caney
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198293507
- eISBN:
- 9780191602337
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829350X.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The aims of this book have been to defend a cosmopolitan theory (both a specific cosmopolitan theory and also a cosmopolitan perspective more generally) and to analyse and evaluate competing ...
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The aims of this book have been to defend a cosmopolitan theory (both a specific cosmopolitan theory and also a cosmopolitan perspective more generally) and to analyse and evaluate competing political philosophies in relation to global justice and politics. This conclusion pulls the threads of the previous six chapters together and offers some more general reflections on different ways of thinking about ethical issues that arise at the global level. The chapter begins by highlighting some key features of the cosmopolitan vision that have emerged from the preceding chapters. It then seeks to locate where non-cosmopolitan political philosophies dissent from (challenge) the cosmopolitan vision.Less
The aims of this book have been to defend a cosmopolitan theory (both a specific cosmopolitan theory and also a cosmopolitan perspective more generally) and to analyse and evaluate competing political philosophies in relation to global justice and politics. This conclusion pulls the threads of the previous six chapters together and offers some more general reflections on different ways of thinking about ethical issues that arise at the global level. The chapter begins by highlighting some key features of the cosmopolitan vision that have emerged from the preceding chapters. It then seeks to locate where non-cosmopolitan political philosophies dissent from (challenge) the cosmopolitan vision.
Richard W. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199581986
- eISBN:
- 9780191723247
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199581986.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
The claim that people in developed countries have vast, unmet obligations to help people in developing countries is usually based on duties of kindness or a global extrapolation of justice among ...
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The claim that people in developed countries have vast, unmet obligations to help people in developing countries is usually based on duties of kindness or a global extrapolation of justice among compatriots. This book constructs a different basis, the need for responsible engagement in transnational interactions in which power is currently abused. After arguing for an undemanding principle of beneficence and deriving duties of justice among compatriots from their special relations, the book develops standards of responsible conduct in current global interactions that determine: what must be done to avoid exploitation in transnational manufacturing, what framework for world trade and investment would be fair, what response to the challenge of global warming is adequate and equitable, what responsibilities to help meet basic needs arise when foreign powers steer the course of development, and what obligations are created by uses of violence to sustain global power. Through detailed empirical inquiries, the book argues that there has been a massive failure to live up to these standards, creating demanding duties to avoid undue advantage and repair abuses of power, on the part of developed countries in general and especially the United States. The book describes policies that would meet these obligations, leading obstacles, and the role of social movements in reducing injustice, especially a global form of social democracy expressing the book's perspectiveLess
The claim that people in developed countries have vast, unmet obligations to help people in developing countries is usually based on duties of kindness or a global extrapolation of justice among compatriots. This book constructs a different basis, the need for responsible engagement in transnational interactions in which power is currently abused. After arguing for an undemanding principle of beneficence and deriving duties of justice among compatriots from their special relations, the book develops standards of responsible conduct in current global interactions that determine: what must be done to avoid exploitation in transnational manufacturing, what framework for world trade and investment would be fair, what response to the challenge of global warming is adequate and equitable, what responsibilities to help meet basic needs arise when foreign powers steer the course of development, and what obligations are created by uses of violence to sustain global power. Through detailed empirical inquiries, the book argues that there has been a massive failure to live up to these standards, creating demanding duties to avoid undue advantage and repair abuses of power, on the part of developed countries in general and especially the United States. The book describes policies that would meet these obligations, leading obstacles, and the role of social movements in reducing injustice, especially a global form of social democracy expressing the book's perspective
Andrew Hurrell
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251209
- eISBN:
- 9780191599293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251207.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter takes issue with a traditional approach that has tried, unsuccessfully, to separate order from justice. It argues that a solidarist consciousness has been developed, arising from a wide ...
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This chapter takes issue with a traditional approach that has tried, unsuccessfully, to separate order from justice. It argues that a solidarist consciousness has been developed, arising from a wide range of social, political, economic, and technological forces. These developments make a retreat to pluralist state‐based conceptions of international order and justice impossible. Yet the chapter acknowledges, too, that attempts to move towards promoting some conception of global justice are still constrained because these attempts have to be made in the context of a global political order that remains heavily structured around inherited pluralist mechanisms that reflect various types of inequality.Less
This chapter takes issue with a traditional approach that has tried, unsuccessfully, to separate order from justice. It argues that a solidarist consciousness has been developed, arising from a wide range of social, political, economic, and technological forces. These developments make a retreat to pluralist state‐based conceptions of international order and justice impossible. Yet the chapter acknowledges, too, that attempts to move towards promoting some conception of global justice are still constrained because these attempts have to be made in the context of a global political order that remains heavily structured around inherited pluralist mechanisms that reflect various types of inequality.
Laura Valentini
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199593859
- eISBN:
- 9780191731457
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593859.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter sets out the aim and structure of the book, and the motivation behind it. It discusses the challenges faced by liberal political theory in an era of globalization, particularly focusing ...
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This chapter sets out the aim and structure of the book, and the motivation behind it. It discusses the challenges faced by liberal political theory in an era of globalization, particularly focusing on ‘the question of extension’, namely whether egalitarian principles of justice can be coherently extended from the domestic to the global arena. The chapter outlines the two most prominent answers to it – cosmopolitanism and statism – and argues that both entail fatal theoretical as well as practical difficulties. After discussing these difficulties, the chapter offers an overview of the normative framework developed in the book to address them. It outlines the book’s central claim, namely that the function of the principles of justice (as opposed to humanitarian assistance) is to evaluate the legitimacy of coercion, and anticipates its contents in detail.Less
This chapter sets out the aim and structure of the book, and the motivation behind it. It discusses the challenges faced by liberal political theory in an era of globalization, particularly focusing on ‘the question of extension’, namely whether egalitarian principles of justice can be coherently extended from the domestic to the global arena. The chapter outlines the two most prominent answers to it – cosmopolitanism and statism – and argues that both entail fatal theoretical as well as practical difficulties. After discussing these difficulties, the chapter offers an overview of the normative framework developed in the book to address them. It outlines the book’s central claim, namely that the function of the principles of justice (as opposed to humanitarian assistance) is to evaluate the legitimacy of coercion, and anticipates its contents in detail.
David Miller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199235056
- eISBN:
- 9780191715792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235056.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This introductory chapter sets out some underlying themes that run throughout this book in preparation for the more detailed discussions that follow later. It begins by reflecting on some human ...
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This introductory chapter sets out some underlying themes that run throughout this book in preparation for the more detailed discussions that follow later. It begins by reflecting on some human tragedies that we have become accustomed to seeing through television. At one level, they are indeed simply tragedies — they involve human beings who are suffering or dying, and who urgently need help. But at another level, they represent the outcome of long and complex chains of causation in which many other human beings are implicated, and where questions about responsibility inevitably arise. Three guidelines are proposed in trying to think about such cases such as these. First, always to see human beings as both patients and agents: needy and vulnerable creatures who cannot survive without the help of others, but at the same time people who can make choices and take responsibility for their lives. Second, to understand the demands of justice as applying to us both as individuals — the personal ethics approach — and as participants in large scale human associations, including states — the institutional approach. Third, to understand global justice in a way that takes account of the large differences between domestic and international contexts, and does not, therefore, merely involve giving a wider scope to familiar principles of social justice.Less
This introductory chapter sets out some underlying themes that run throughout this book in preparation for the more detailed discussions that follow later. It begins by reflecting on some human tragedies that we have become accustomed to seeing through television. At one level, they are indeed simply tragedies — they involve human beings who are suffering or dying, and who urgently need help. But at another level, they represent the outcome of long and complex chains of causation in which many other human beings are implicated, and where questions about responsibility inevitably arise. Three guidelines are proposed in trying to think about such cases such as these. First, always to see human beings as both patients and agents: needy and vulnerable creatures who cannot survive without the help of others, but at the same time people who can make choices and take responsibility for their lives. Second, to understand the demands of justice as applying to us both as individuals — the personal ethics approach — and as participants in large scale human associations, including states — the institutional approach. Third, to understand global justice in a way that takes account of the large differences between domestic and international contexts, and does not, therefore, merely involve giving a wider scope to familiar principles of social justice.
David Miller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199235056
- eISBN:
- 9780191715792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235056.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This chapter examines global egalitarianism as a free-standing conception of global justice and provides some reasons for rejecting it. It argues that neither equality of resources nor equality of ...
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This chapter examines global egalitarianism as a free-standing conception of global justice and provides some reasons for rejecting it. It argues that neither equality of resources nor equality of opportunity represents a workable principle of global justice. In neither case can we measure the resources or opportunities available to people in different societies in a way that is neutral as between cultures, and such neutrality seems indispensable in a global principle of justice. The chapter then considers some other reasons for wanting the scale of these inequalities to be reduced — reasons, in other words, that are not directly reasons of justice, even though they may involve seeing inequality, indirectly, as a source of injustice. These are that material inequalities broadly conceived will naturally translate into inequalities of power, which then become a source of ongoing global injustice; that gross inequality between nations makes it difficult if not impossible for those at the bottom end of the inequality to enjoy an adequate measure of self-determination, unless one imagines, counterfactually, that rich nations' interest in self-determination concerns only their own internal affairs, and not what happens in the world outside; and that large inequalities in wealth and power also make it difficult to achieve a so-called ‘fair terms of cooperation’ internationally.Less
This chapter examines global egalitarianism as a free-standing conception of global justice and provides some reasons for rejecting it. It argues that neither equality of resources nor equality of opportunity represents a workable principle of global justice. In neither case can we measure the resources or opportunities available to people in different societies in a way that is neutral as between cultures, and such neutrality seems indispensable in a global principle of justice. The chapter then considers some other reasons for wanting the scale of these inequalities to be reduced — reasons, in other words, that are not directly reasons of justice, even though they may involve seeing inequality, indirectly, as a source of injustice. These are that material inequalities broadly conceived will naturally translate into inequalities of power, which then become a source of ongoing global injustice; that gross inequality between nations makes it difficult if not impossible for those at the bottom end of the inequality to enjoy an adequate measure of self-determination, unless one imagines, counterfactually, that rich nations' interest in self-determination concerns only their own internal affairs, and not what happens in the world outside; and that large inequalities in wealth and power also make it difficult to achieve a so-called ‘fair terms of cooperation’ internationally.
Simon Caney
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198293507
- eISBN:
- 9780191602337
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829350X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Examines which political principles should govern global politics. It explores ethical issues in justice that arise at the global level and addresses questions such as: are there universal values, ...
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Examines which political principles should govern global politics. It explores ethical issues in justice that arise at the global level and addresses questions such as: are there universal values, and if so, what are they; what human rights, if any, are there; are there global principles of distributive justice; should there be a system of supra-state institutions; is national self-determination defensible; when, if ever, may political regimes wage war; and is humanitarian intervention justified?The book outlines and defends an egalitarian liberal brand of cosmopolitanism to address these questions, maintaining that there are universal principles, arguing that these include universal civil and political human rights, and defending the application of global principles of distributive justice. On this basis, it makes a case for a system of supra-state political institutions to promote these universal principles of justice further. Having set out principles of ideal theory, the book then examines what principles should apply when injustices are committed. To do this it examines when political regimes may wage war and when they may engage in intervention, and thereby draws on cosmopolitan principles to derive and defend a cosmopolitan conception of just war and humanitarian intervention. In arriving at these conclusions, the book engages in a sustained analysis of the competing arguments on all the above issues, examining the arguments of nationalists, realists, and those who affirm the ideal of a society of states. To do this, the book explores and integrates the work of philosophers, political theorists, and international relations scholars, and illustrates its ethical argument and theoretical analysis with empirical examples. Furthermore, it argues that the issues examined in the book cannot be adequately treated in isolation from each other but must be treated as an interlinked whole.Less
Examines which political principles should govern global politics. It explores ethical issues in justice that arise at the global level and addresses questions such as: are there universal values, and if so, what are they; what human rights, if any, are there; are there global principles of distributive justice; should there be a system of supra-state institutions; is national self-determination defensible; when, if ever, may political regimes wage war; and is humanitarian intervention justified?
The book outlines and defends an egalitarian liberal brand of cosmopolitanism to address these questions, maintaining that there are universal principles, arguing that these include universal civil and political human rights, and defending the application of global principles of distributive justice. On this basis, it makes a case for a system of supra-state political institutions to promote these universal principles of justice further. Having set out principles of ideal theory, the book then examines what principles should apply when injustices are committed. To do this it examines when political regimes may wage war and when they may engage in intervention, and thereby draws on cosmopolitan principles to derive and defend a cosmopolitan conception of just war and humanitarian intervention. In arriving at these conclusions, the book engages in a sustained analysis of the competing arguments on all the above issues, examining the arguments of nationalists, realists, and those who affirm the ideal of a society of states. To do this, the book explores and integrates the work of philosophers, political theorists, and international relations scholars, and illustrates its ethical argument and theoretical analysis with empirical examples. Furthermore, it argues that the issues examined in the book cannot be adequately treated in isolation from each other but must be treated as an interlinked whole.
David Miller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199235056
- eISBN:
- 9780191715792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235056.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This chapter addresses the questions: what responsibilities do we have towards the global poor? What must we do for them as a matter of justice? It considers the arguments of Peter Singer and Thomas ...
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This chapter addresses the questions: what responsibilities do we have towards the global poor? What must we do for them as a matter of justice? It considers the arguments of Peter Singer and Thomas Pogge that responsibility for global poverty falls straightforwardly on the citizens of rich, developed societies. Against Peter Singer, it is argued that it makes no sense to assign remedial responsibility for poverty to citizens of rich states without first considering the question of outcome responsibility — how and why poverty has arisen. Against Thomas Pogge, it is argued that his attempt to assign outcome responsibility for poverty to the international order, and through that to citizens of rich states and their governments, is implausible. It is shown that remedial responsibilities to the world's poor are not straightforward, but must take into account a variety of factors, primarily having to do with attributions of outcome responsibility for the poverty we witness.Less
This chapter addresses the questions: what responsibilities do we have towards the global poor? What must we do for them as a matter of justice? It considers the arguments of Peter Singer and Thomas Pogge that responsibility for global poverty falls straightforwardly on the citizens of rich, developed societies. Against Peter Singer, it is argued that it makes no sense to assign remedial responsibility for poverty to citizens of rich states without first considering the question of outcome responsibility — how and why poverty has arisen. Against Thomas Pogge, it is argued that his attempt to assign outcome responsibility for poverty to the international order, and through that to citizens of rich states and their governments, is implausible. It is shown that remedial responsibilities to the world's poor are not straightforward, but must take into account a variety of factors, primarily having to do with attributions of outcome responsibility for the poverty we witness.
David Miller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199235056
- eISBN:
- 9780191715792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235056.003.0010
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This chapter presents a summary of the main arguments in this book. Among these is that national identity entails national responsibility. By virtue of identifying with compatriots, sharing their ...
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This chapter presents a summary of the main arguments in this book. Among these is that national identity entails national responsibility. By virtue of identifying with compatriots, sharing their values, and receiving the benefits that national communities provide, we are also involved in collective responsibility for the things that nations do. This extends to include things that our ancestors have done — national responsibility includes responsibility for the national past.Less
This chapter presents a summary of the main arguments in this book. Among these is that national identity entails national responsibility. By virtue of identifying with compatriots, sharing their values, and receiving the benefits that national communities provide, we are also involved in collective responsibility for the things that nations do. This extends to include things that our ancestors have done — national responsibility includes responsibility for the national past.
Pablo Gilabert
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199639717
- eISBN:
- 9780191739033
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199639717.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Do we have positive duties to help others in need or are our moral duties only negative, focused on not harming them? Are any of the former duties of justice that respond to enforceable rights? Is ...
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Do we have positive duties to help others in need or are our moral duties only negative, focused on not harming them? Are any of the former duties of justice that respond to enforceable rights? Is their scope global? Should we aim for global equality besides the eradication of severe global poverty? Is a humanist approach to egalitarian distribution based on rights that all human beings as such have defensible, or must egalitarian distribution be seen in an associativist way, as tracking existing frameworks such as statehood and economic interdependence? Are the eradication of global poverty and the achievement of global equality practically feasible or are they hopelessly utopian wishes? This book argues that there are basic positive duties of justice to help eradicate severe global poverty, that global egalitarian principles are also reasonable even if they cannot be fully realized in the short term, and that there are dynamic duties to enhance the feasibility of the transition from global poverty to global equality in the face of nonideal circumstances such as the absence of robust international institutions and the lack of a strong ethos of cosmopolitan solidarity. The very notion of feasibility is crucial for normative reasoning, but has received little explicit philosophical discussion. This book offers a systematic exploration of that concept as well as of its application to global justice. It also arbitrates the current debate between humanist and associativist accounts of the scope of distributive justice. Drawing on moral contractualism (the view that we ought to follow the principles that no one could reasonably reject), this book provides a novel defense of humanism, challenges several versions of associativism (which remains the most popular view among political philosophers), and seeks to integrate the insights underlying both views.Less
Do we have positive duties to help others in need or are our moral duties only negative, focused on not harming them? Are any of the former duties of justice that respond to enforceable rights? Is their scope global? Should we aim for global equality besides the eradication of severe global poverty? Is a humanist approach to egalitarian distribution based on rights that all human beings as such have defensible, or must egalitarian distribution be seen in an associativist way, as tracking existing frameworks such as statehood and economic interdependence? Are the eradication of global poverty and the achievement of global equality practically feasible or are they hopelessly utopian wishes? This book argues that there are basic positive duties of justice to help eradicate severe global poverty, that global egalitarian principles are also reasonable even if they cannot be fully realized in the short term, and that there are dynamic duties to enhance the feasibility of the transition from global poverty to global equality in the face of nonideal circumstances such as the absence of robust international institutions and the lack of a strong ethos of cosmopolitan solidarity. The very notion of feasibility is crucial for normative reasoning, but has received little explicit philosophical discussion. This book offers a systematic exploration of that concept as well as of its application to global justice. It also arbitrates the current debate between humanist and associativist accounts of the scope of distributive justice. Drawing on moral contractualism (the view that we ought to follow the principles that no one could reasonably reject), this book provides a novel defense of humanism, challenges several versions of associativism (which remains the most popular view among political philosophers), and seeks to integrate the insights underlying both views.
Samuel Scheffler
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199257676
- eISBN:
- 9780191600197
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199257671.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Members of affluent societies are often resistant to claims of global justice, and their resistance is frequently expressed in normative terms, in the claim that one has special responsibilities ...
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Members of affluent societies are often resistant to claims of global justice, and their resistance is frequently expressed in normative terms, in the claim that one has special responsibilities towards the members of one's family, community, or society. In this essay, Scheffler develops one argument, the distributive objection, which might be offered in support of claims of global justice and against the idea of special responsibilities. He then considers four possible responses to the distributive objection and concludes that the objection does not serve to invalidate all claims of special responsibility. Nevertheless, both the distributive objection and the idea of global justice are rooted in a commitment to the equal worth of persons, and the objection does demonstrate that the relationship between that commitment and the recognition of special responsibilities is more problematic than is often supposed.Less
Members of affluent societies are often resistant to claims of global justice, and their resistance is frequently expressed in normative terms, in the claim that one has special responsibilities towards the members of one's family, community, or society. In this essay, Scheffler develops one argument, the distributive objection, which might be offered in support of claims of global justice and against the idea of special responsibilities. He then considers four possible responses to the distributive objection and concludes that the objection does not serve to invalidate all claims of special responsibility. Nevertheless, both the distributive objection and the idea of global justice are rooted in a commitment to the equal worth of persons, and the objection does demonstrate that the relationship between that commitment and the recognition of special responsibilities is more problematic than is often supposed.
Cara Nine
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199580217
- eISBN:
- 9780191741456
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199580217.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Historical injustice and global inequality are basic problems embedded in territorial rights. We ask questions such as: How can the descendants of colonists claim territory that isn’t really ...
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Historical injustice and global inequality are basic problems embedded in territorial rights. We ask questions such as: How can the descendants of colonists claim territory that isn’t really ‘theirs’? Are the immense, exclusive oil claims of Canada or Saudi Arabia justified in the face of severe global poverty? Wouldn’t the world be more just if rights over natural resources were shared with the world’s poorest? These concerns are central to territorial rights theory and at the same time they are relatively unexplored. In fact, while there is a sizeable debate focused on particular territorial disputes, there is little sustained attention given to providing a general standard for territorial entitlement. This widespread omission is disastrous. If we don’t understand why territorial rights are justified in a general, principled form, then how do we know they can be justified in any particular solution to a dispute? As part of an effort to remedy this omission, this book advances a general theory of territorial rights. This book puts forward a theory of territorial rights that starts with the idea that territorial rights affect everybody. Territorial rights, it asserts, must be universally justified. it adapts a theoretical framework from natural law theory to ground all territorial claims. In this framework, particular territorial rights are claimable by the collectives that establish legitimate, minimal conditions for justice within a geographical region. A consequence of this theoretical approach to territorial rights is that exclusive resource entitlements are justified, even if they maintain global inequality.Less
Historical injustice and global inequality are basic problems embedded in territorial rights. We ask questions such as: How can the descendants of colonists claim territory that isn’t really ‘theirs’? Are the immense, exclusive oil claims of Canada or Saudi Arabia justified in the face of severe global poverty? Wouldn’t the world be more just if rights over natural resources were shared with the world’s poorest? These concerns are central to territorial rights theory and at the same time they are relatively unexplored. In fact, while there is a sizeable debate focused on particular territorial disputes, there is little sustained attention given to providing a general standard for territorial entitlement. This widespread omission is disastrous. If we don’t understand why territorial rights are justified in a general, principled form, then how do we know they can be justified in any particular solution to a dispute? As part of an effort to remedy this omission, this book advances a general theory of territorial rights. This book puts forward a theory of territorial rights that starts with the idea that territorial rights affect everybody. Territorial rights, it asserts, must be universally justified. it adapts a theoretical framework from natural law theory to ground all territorial claims. In this framework, particular territorial rights are claimable by the collectives that establish legitimate, minimal conditions for justice within a geographical region. A consequence of this theoretical approach to territorial rights is that exclusive resource entitlements are justified, even if they maintain global inequality.
Adam Branch
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199782086
- eISBN:
- 9780199919130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199782086.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Chapter 6 examines the politics of the International Criminal Court’s intervention in northern Uganda. It discusses the Court’s instrumentalization to the Uganda government’s political and military ...
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Chapter 6 examines the politics of the International Criminal Court’s intervention in northern Uganda. It discusses the Court’s instrumentalization to the Uganda government’s political and military interests and then proceeds to consider the political consequences stemming from the ICC’s administrative dimension, specifically from the discourse of the ICC as an agent of global law enforcement. It argues that ICC intervention can have deleterious effects on the capacity for autonomous political organization and action among civilian victims of violence by promoting their political dependency mediated by international law. It ends with a consideration of the reconfiguration of global justice in emancipatory directions and the place of international law within those projects.Less
Chapter 6 examines the politics of the International Criminal Court’s intervention in northern Uganda. It discusses the Court’s instrumentalization to the Uganda government’s political and military interests and then proceeds to consider the political consequences stemming from the ICC’s administrative dimension, specifically from the discourse of the ICC as an agent of global law enforcement. It argues that ICC intervention can have deleterious effects on the capacity for autonomous political organization and action among civilian victims of violence by promoting their political dependency mediated by international law. It ends with a consideration of the reconfiguration of global justice in emancipatory directions and the place of international law within those projects.
David Miller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199235056
- eISBN:
- 9780191715792
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235056.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Russian Politics
This chapter discusses the concept of cosmopolitanism. It begins by drawing a distinction between moral and political versions of cosmopolitanism. It then focuses on moral cosmopolitanism and its ...
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This chapter discusses the concept of cosmopolitanism. It begins by drawing a distinction between moral and political versions of cosmopolitanism. It then focuses on moral cosmopolitanism and its implications for global justice. It distinguishes between weak and strong versions of moral cosmopolitanism, where weak cosmopolitanism requires us to show equal moral concern for human beings everywhere, while strong cosmopolitanism goes beyond this to demand that we should afford them equal treatment, in a substantive sense. The chapter shows that strong cosmopolitanism is not entailed by weak cosmopolitanism; but it has not shown what exactly is wrong with strong cosmopolitanism, other than that it conflicts with an intuitively plausible picture of agents' responsibilities. Thus, it would still be possible for someone to present an independent argument to the effect that justice requires a strong form of equality at global level, and that our understanding of special responsibilities therefore needs to be reshaped to become consistent with such a requirement.Less
This chapter discusses the concept of cosmopolitanism. It begins by drawing a distinction between moral and political versions of cosmopolitanism. It then focuses on moral cosmopolitanism and its implications for global justice. It distinguishes between weak and strong versions of moral cosmopolitanism, where weak cosmopolitanism requires us to show equal moral concern for human beings everywhere, while strong cosmopolitanism goes beyond this to demand that we should afford them equal treatment, in a substantive sense. The chapter shows that strong cosmopolitanism is not entailed by weak cosmopolitanism; but it has not shown what exactly is wrong with strong cosmopolitanism, other than that it conflicts with an intuitively plausible picture of agents' responsibilities. Thus, it would still be possible for someone to present an independent argument to the effect that justice requires a strong form of equality at global level, and that our understanding of special responsibilities therefore needs to be reshaped to become consistent with such a requirement.
Kok-Chor Tan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199588855
- eISBN:
- 9780191738586
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588855.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter builds on the luck egalitarian ideal defended in Part II, arguing that since equality matters independently of the ideal of democracy, it potentially applies outside the confines of the ...
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This chapter builds on the luck egalitarian ideal defended in Part II, arguing that since equality matters independently of the ideal of democracy, it potentially applies outside the confines of the (democratic) state. On my institutional luck egalitarian account, what is significant is whether there are global practices and institutions that systemically translate natural and arbitrary facts about persons into significant advantages for some and disadvantages for others. This chapter thus elaborates on the ways in which global institutions and practices turn facts that are “arbitrary from a moral point of view” and contingencies into actual social advantages and disadvantages for persons. It points out that the institutional focus prevents global luck egalitarianism from sliding into the absurdity often attributed to it, namely, that global luck egalitarianism has to take on distributive (not just humanitarian) commitments to anyone who so happens to be worse off. Distributive obligations kick in only where there is some institutional order that transforms luck into differential life prospects.Less
This chapter builds on the luck egalitarian ideal defended in Part II, arguing that since equality matters independently of the ideal of democracy, it potentially applies outside the confines of the (democratic) state. On my institutional luck egalitarian account, what is significant is whether there are global practices and institutions that systemically translate natural and arbitrary facts about persons into significant advantages for some and disadvantages for others. This chapter thus elaborates on the ways in which global institutions and practices turn facts that are “arbitrary from a moral point of view” and contingencies into actual social advantages and disadvantages for persons. It points out that the institutional focus prevents global luck egalitarianism from sliding into the absurdity often attributed to it, namely, that global luck egalitarianism has to take on distributive (not just humanitarian) commitments to anyone who so happens to be worse off. Distributive obligations kick in only where there is some institutional order that transforms luck into differential life prospects.
Gillian Brock
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199230938
- eISBN:
- 9780191710957
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199230938.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This book develops a viable cosmopolitan model of global justice that takes seriously the equal moral worth of persons, yet leaves scope for defensible forms of nationalism and for other legitimate ...
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This book develops a viable cosmopolitan model of global justice that takes seriously the equal moral worth of persons, yet leaves scope for defensible forms of nationalism and for other legitimate identifications and affiliations people have. The book addresses two prominent skeptics about global justice: those who doubt its feasibility and those who believe that cosmopolitanism interferes illegitimately with the defensible scope of nationalism by undermining goods of national importance, such as authentic democracy or national self‐determination. The model addresses concerns about implementation in the world, showing how we can move from theory to public policy that makes progress toward global justice. It also makes clear how legitimate forms of nationalism are compatible with commitments to global justice. The book is divided into three central parts. In the first, the book defends a cosmopolitan model of global justice. In the second, which is largely concerned with public policy issues, it argues that there is much we can and should do toward achieving global justice. The book addresses several pressing problems, discussing bo theoretical and public policy issues involved with each. These include tackling global poverty, taxation reform, protection of basic liberties, humanitarian intervention, immigration, and problems associated with global economic arrangements. In the third part, the book shows how the discussion of public policy issues can usefully inform our theorizing; in particular, it assists our thinking about the place of nationalism and equality in an account of global justice.Less
This book develops a viable cosmopolitan model of global justice that takes seriously the equal moral worth of persons, yet leaves scope for defensible forms of nationalism and for other legitimate identifications and affiliations people have. The book addresses two prominent skeptics about global justice: those who doubt its feasibility and those who believe that cosmopolitanism interferes illegitimately with the defensible scope of nationalism by undermining goods of national importance, such as authentic democracy or national self‐determination. The model addresses concerns about implementation in the world, showing how we can move from theory to public policy that makes progress toward global justice. It also makes clear how legitimate forms of nationalism are compatible with commitments to global justice. The book is divided into three central parts. In the first, the book defends a cosmopolitan model of global justice. In the second, which is largely concerned with public policy issues, it argues that there is much we can and should do toward achieving global justice. The book addresses several pressing problems, discussing bo theoretical and public policy issues involved with each. These include tackling global poverty, taxation reform, protection of basic liberties, humanitarian intervention, immigration, and problems associated with global economic arrangements. In the third part, the book shows how the discussion of public policy issues can usefully inform our theorizing; in particular, it assists our thinking about the place of nationalism and equality in an account of global justice.
