Responding to Global Poverty
Harm, Responsibility, and Agency

This book explores whether affluent people in the developed world have stringent responsibilities to help fight poverty abroad.

Christian Barry (Author), Gerhard Øverland (Author)

9781108729987, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 24 January 2019

271 pages
23 x 15 x 1.4 cm, 0.4 kg

'… the book is invaluable in bringing together often disconnected debates from the philosophy of action, global justice, the philosophy of law and practical ethics, helping the reader to comprehend the conceptual building blocks and moral structure of the pressing problem of global poverty. In their effort to offer a coherent conceptual framework, the authors appear at times as trying to fit the various strands of the debate into a single straightjacket. In conclusion, the book will repay careful reading by anyone interested in understanding the complexity of global poverty, in particular advanced undergraduate and graduate students of the social sciences and philosophy, as well as policy makers and those working in the field who are interested in a more sophisticated account.' George Pavlakos, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

This book explores the nature of moral responsibilities of affluent individuals in the developed world, addressing global poverty and arguments that philosophers have offered for having these responsibilities. The first type of argument grounds responsibilities in the ability to avert serious suffering by taking on some cost. The second argument seeks to ground responsibilities in the fact that the affluent are contributing to such poverty. The authors criticise many of the claims advanced by those who seek to ground stringent responsibilities to the poor by invoking these two types of arguments. It does not follow from this that the affluent are meeting responsibilities to the poor. The book argues that while people are not ordinarily required to make large sacrifices in assisting others in severe need, they are required to incur moderate costs to do so. If the affluent fail consistently to meet standards, this fact can substantially increase the costs they are required to bear in order to address it.

1. Introduction: assistance-based and contribution-based responsibilities to address global poverty
Part I. Assistance-Based Responsibilities: 2. Assistance-based responsibilities
3. The implications of failing to assist
4. Assistance-based responsibilities in the real world
Part II. Contribution-Based Responsibilities: 5. The doing, allowing and enabling distinction
6. Giving rise to cost and the doing, allowing and enabling distinction
7. The feasible alternatives thesis: Pogge on contribution-based responsibilities to the poor
8. Contribution-based responsibilities and trade
Part III. Implications of Contribution: 9. The implications of contributing to global poverty
10. Assuming responsibility for harm
11. Contribution-based responsibilities and overdetermination.

Subject Areas: Political science & theory [JPA], Social issues & processes [JFF], Social & political philosophy [HPS]