Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Introduction
- An Idea we Cannot do Without
- Needs and Global Justice
- Need, Humiliation and Independence
- Needs and Ethics in Ancient Philosophy
- Aristotle on Necessities and Needs
- Need, Care and Obligation
- Needs, Facts, Goodness, and Truth
- Fundamental Needs
- Needs, Rights, and Collective Obligations
- Where does the Moral Force of the Concept of Needs Reside and When?
- Needs and Capabilities
Needs and Global Justice
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 July 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Introduction
- An Idea we Cannot do Without
- Needs and Global Justice
- Need, Humiliation and Independence
- Needs and Ethics in Ancient Philosophy
- Aristotle on Necessities and Needs
- Need, Care and Obligation
- Needs, Facts, Goodness, and Truth
- Fundamental Needs
- Needs, Rights, and Collective Obligations
- Where does the Moral Force of the Concept of Needs Reside and When?
- Needs and Capabilities
Summary
In this paper I argue that needs are tremendously salient in developing any plausible account of global justice. I begin by sketching a normative thought experiment that models ideal deliberating conditions. I argue that under such conditions we would choose principles of justice that ensure we are well positioned to be able to meet our needs. Indeed, as the experiment aims to show, any plausible account of distributive justice must make space for the special significance of our needs. I go on to offer some empirical support for this view by looking at the important work of Frohlich and Oppenheimer. I then present an account of our basic needs that can meet a number of goals: for instance, it provides a robust theoretical account of basic needs which can enjoy widespread support, and it can also provide an adequate framework for designing policy about needs, and thus help us to discharge our global obligations. I then briefly discuss the relationship between basic needs and human rights, arguing why the basic needs standard is more fundamental than—and required by—the human rights approach. Finally, I tackle a few important sets of objections to my view, especially some objections concerning distributing our responsibilities for meeting needs.
Global Justice: The Basic Framework
In this section I offer a systematic way of thinking through what global justice requires of us, a way which I believe can tackle a number of issues together, though here I focus on how it can supply us with an excellent framework for settling matters of global distributive justice.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Philosophy of Need , pp. 51 - 72Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
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