Core topics: justice and humanitarianism – positive and negative duties – relational and non-relational approaches – egalitarianism and minimalism – global poverty – human rights – global institutional order

In this session, we will introduce the idea of global justice, especially of the socio-economic (distributive) kind. Why do some theorists believe that distribution of benefits and burdens should be approached from a global (or cosmopolitan) perspective – that is, as transcending state borders, instead of just being a matter of domestic politics? We will overview basic positions in the debate and show how the issues of global poverty and human rights protection are related to justice. Pogge’s famous (if controversial) argument has it that the global political, legal and economic order is primarily to blame for the lot of poor and powerless of the worlds.

Core Readings

Armstrong, Chris. 2012. Global Distributive Justice: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 11–40

Pogge, Thomas. 2010. Politics as Usual: What Lies Behind the Pro-Poor Rhetoric. Cambridge: Polity Press, 10–25

Total 46 pages.