Introduction: Global Justice

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• xiii Preface: INTRODUCTION TO THE TWO-VOLUME COLLECTION For centuries, moral reflection on international relations was focused on matters of war and peace. ese issues are still important and much discussed.Since World War II,however,other themes have become more prominent due to increasing global interdependence and an erosion of sovereignty.e United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reflect efforts to establish globally uniform minimum standards for the treatment of citizens within their own countries. e Bretton Woods institutions and later the WorldTrade Organization powerfully shape the economic prospects of countries and their citizens. Global and regional organizations, most notably the UN Security Council and the European Union, have acquired political functions and powers that were traditionally thought to belong to national governments. ese developments are in part a response to the horrors of World War II. But they are also fueled by technological innovations that limit the control governments can exert within their jurisdictions. us, industrialization has massive transnational effects that no country can avoid—effects on culture and expectations, on biodiversity, climate, oceans, and atmosphere. New communications technologies make it much harder to control the information available to a national population. And many of the goods demanded by more affluent consumers everywhere require ingredients imported from many foreign lands. e traditional concerns with the just internal organization of societies and the moral rules governing warfare leave out some highly consequential features of the modern world. After some delay, academic moral reflection has responded to these developments. Beginning in the early 1970s, philosophers and others have Global Ethics after Index added.13 13 12/17/2007 3:26:36 PM

Transcript of Introduction: Global Justice

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Preface:

INTROdUcTION TO THE TwO-VOLUmE cOLLEcTION

Forcenturies,moralreflectiononinternationalrelationswasfocusedonmattersofwarandpeace.Theseissuesarestillimportantandmuchdiscussed.SinceWorldWarII,however,otherthemeshavebecomemoreprominentduetoincreasingglobalinterdependenceandanerosionofsovereignty.TheUnitedNationsandtheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRightsreflecteffortstoestablishgloballyuniformminimumstandardsforthetreatmentofcitizenswithintheirowncountries.TheBrettonWoodsinstitutionsandlatertheWorldTradeOrganizationpowerfullyshapetheeconomicprospectsofcountriesandtheircitizens.Globalandregionalorganizations,mostnotablytheUNSecurityCouncilandtheEuropeanUnion,haveacquiredpoliticalfunctionsandpowersthatweretraditionallythoughttobelongtonationalgovernments.

ThesedevelopmentsareinpartaresponsetothehorrorsofWorldWarII.Buttheyarealsofueledbytechnologicalinnovationsthatlimitthe control governments can exert within their jurisdictions.Thus,industrializationhasmassivetransnationaleffectsthatnocountrycanavoid—effects on culture and expectations, on biodiversity, climate,oceans,andatmosphere.Newcommunicationstechnologiesmakeitmuchhardertocontroltheinformationavailabletoanationalpopulation.Andmanyofthegoodsdemandedbymoreaffluentconsumerseverywhererequireingredientsimportedfrommanyforeignlands.Thetraditionalconcernswiththejustinternalorganizationofsocietiesandthemoralrulesgoverningwarfareleaveoutsomehighlyconsequentialfeaturesofthemodernworld.

Aftersomedelay,academicmoralreflectionhasrespondedtothesedevelopments.Beginningintheearly1970s,philosophersandothershave

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askedprobingquestionsabouthowtheemergenceofapost‑Westphalianworldmodifiesandenlargesthemoralresponsibilitiesofgovernments,corporations, and individuals.Thesedebatesweredriven alsoby therealizationthatworldpovertyhasovertakenwarasthegreatestsourceofavoidablehumanmisery.Manymorepeople—some300million—havediedfromhungerandremediablediseasesinpeacetimeintheseventeenyearssincetheendoftheColdWarthanhaveperishedfromwars,civilwars,andgovernmentrepressionovertheentiretwentiethcentury.Andpovertycontinuesunabated,withsome830millionhumanbeingschroni‑callyundernourished,1100millionlackingaccesstosafewater,and2600millionlackingaccesstobasicsanitation;12000millionlackingaccesstoessentialdrugs;21000millionlackingadequateshelterand2000millionlackingelectricity;3774millionadultsbeingilliterate,4and218millionchildrenbetweenfive and seventeendoingwageworkoutside theirhousehold.5Suchseveredeficitsinthefulfillmentofsocialandeconomichumanrightsalsobringfurtherdeficitsincivilandpoliticalhumanrightsintheirwake.Verypoorpeople—oftenphysicallyandmentallystuntedduetomalnutritionininfancy,illiterateduetolackofschooling,andmuchpreoccupiedwiththeirfamily’ssurvival—cancauselittleharmorbenefittothepoliticiansandofficialswhorulethem.Suchrulershavefargreaterincentivetoattendtotheinterestsofagentsmorecapableofreciproca‑tion:theinterestsofaffluentcompatriotsandforeigners,ofdomesticandmultinationalcorporations,andofforeigngovernments.

Thegreatcatastropheofhumanpovertyisongoing,asistheannualtollof18milliondeathsfrompoverty‑relatedcauses,roughlyone‑thirdofallhumandeaths.6Threefactsmakesuchpovertydeeplyproblematic,

�. UNDP (United Nations Development Program), Human Development Report 2006 (Houndsmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006), 33 and �74. Also at hdr.undp.org/hdr2006.2. See www.fic.nih.gov/about/plan/exec_summary.htm.3. UNDP, Human Development Report 1998 (New York: Oxford University Press, �998), 49, http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/�998/en/pdf/hdr_�998_ch3.pdf.4. See www.uis.unesco.org.�. See ILO (International Labour Office), The End of Child Labour: Within Reach (Geneva: ILO 2006), Table �.�. Also at www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc9�/pdf/rep-i-b.pdf.6. See WHO (World Health Organisation), The World Health Report 2004 (Geneva: WHO Publications 2004), �20-2�. Also at www.who.int/whr/2004.

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morally.First,itoccursinthecontextofunprecedentedglobalaffluencethatiseasilysufficienttoeradicatealllife‑threateningpoverty.Although2735millionhumanbeingsarereportedtobelivingbelowtheWorldBank’s$2/daypovertyline,7and42percentbelowitonaverage,8theircollectiveshortfallfromthislineamountstolessthan1percentofthenational incomes of the high‑income countries with their 1 billionpeople.9Ashiftintheglobalincomedistributioninvolvingonly0.7percentofglobalincomewouldwhollyeradicatetheseverepovertythatcurrentlyblightsthelivesofover40percentofthehumanpopulation.Whiletheincomeinequalitybetweenthetopandbottomtenthofthehumanpopulationisastaggering320:1,10thewealthinequalityisninetimesgreaterstill.In2000thebottom50percentoftheworld’sadultstogetherhad1.1percentofglobalwealthwiththebottom10percenthavingonly0.03percent,whilethetop10percenthad85.1percentandthetop1percenthad39.9percent.11Severepovertytodayisavoid‑ableatacostthatistinyinrelationtotheincomesandfortunesofthe

7. See Shaohua Chen and Martin Ravallion, “How Have the World’s Poorest Fared since the Early �980s?” World Bank Research Observer �9 (2004), �4�–69, ��3. Also at wbro.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/�9/2/�4�.8. Ibid., ��2 and ��8, dividing the poverty gap index by the headcount index.9. To count as poor by the $2/day standard, a person in the US must in 2007 live on less than $��20. (This figure is based on the official definition of the poverty line in terms of the purchasing power that $2.�� had in the US in �993 as updated via the US consumer price index at www.bls.gov/cpi/home.htm). Ascribing much greater purchasing power to the currencies of poor countries than market exchange rates would suggest, the World Bank assumes that about one-quarter of this amount, $280 per person per year, is sufficient to escape poverty in typical poor countries. The 273� million global poor live, then, on approximately $444 billion annually and lack roughly $322 billion annually relative to the $2/day poverty line. This $322 billion is less than one percent of the gross national incomes of the high-income countries which, in 200�, summed to $3�,�29 billion. See World Bank, World Development Report, 2007 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006), 289.�0. Branko Milanovic, Worlds Apart: Measuring International and Global Inequality (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 200�), �08.��. James B. Davies, Susanna Sandstrom, Anthony Shorrocks, and Edward N. Wolff, The World Distribution of Household Wealth, World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER), December �, 2006 (www.wider.unu.edu/research/2006-2007/2006-2007-�/wider-wdhw-launch-�-�2-2006/wider-wdhw-report-�-�2-2006.pdf), Table �0a.

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affluent—verymuchsmaller,forinstance,thantheAllies’sacrificeinbloodandtreasureforvictoryinWorldWarII.

Second,theenormousglobalinequalitiesjustdescribedareincreas‑ingrelentlessly.BrankoMilanovicreportsthatrealincomesofthepoor‑est5percentofworldpopulationdeclined20percentinthe1988–93periodandanother23percentduring1993–98,whilerealglobalpercapitaincomeincreasedby5.2percentand4.8percentrespectively.12Forthe1988–98periodhefindsthat,assessedintermsofpurchasingpowerparities(PPPs),theGinimeasureofinequalityamongpersonsworldwideincreasedfrom62.2to64.1,andtheTheilfrom72.7to78.9.13Wecanconfirmandupdatehisfindingswithother,moreintuitivedata.TheWorldBankreportsthat,inthehigh‑incomeOrganisationforEco‑nomicCo‑operationandDevelopment(OECD)countries,householdfinalconsumptionexpenditurepercapita(constant2000USDollars)rose56.3percentinrealtermsoverthe1984‑2004globalizationperiod:from$11,582in1984to$18,103in2004.14WorldBankinteractivesoftwarecanbeusedtocalculatehowthepoorerhalfofhumankindhavefared,intermsoftheirreal(inflation/PPPadjusted)consumptionexpenditure,duringthissameperiod.15Herearethegainsforvariouspercentilesofworldpopulationlabeledfromthebottomup:

48.62% gainforthe 50th percentile(median)47.18% gainforthe 40th percentile42.20% gainforthe 30th percentile36.16% gainforthe 20th percentile33.72% gainforthe 15th percentile32.61% gainforthe 10th percentile31.92% gainforthe 7th percentile30.86% gainforthe 5th percentile30.44% gainforthe 3rd percentile22.87% gainforthe 2nd percentile9.64% gainforthe 1st percentile

�2. Milanovic, Worlds Apart, �08.13. Ibid.�4. See devdata.worldbank.org/dataonline; last accessed �0 June 2007��. See iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/jsp/index.jsp. Full calculations are on file with the author. Unfortunately, this database excludes the popula-tions of the high-income countries and therefore permits no similarly detailed calculations for the top half of the human population.

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Because economic inequality is increasing alsowithin thehigh‑incomecountries—intheUS,forexample,householdsinthetoponeper‑centoftheincomehierarchyhaveexpandedtheirshareofnationalpre‑taxincomefrom9percentto16percentsince197916—wecanconcludethatglobalinequalityisrisingacrosstheentireincomespectrum.Thesharesofthemostaffluentpercentilesofthehumanpopulationaregrowingfasterthantheaverage,thesharesofpoorerpercentilesaregrowingslower,andthesharesofthepoorestpercentilesaregrowingtheleast.

Third,conditionsoflifeanywhereoneartharetodaydeeplyaffectedbyinternationalinteractionsofmanykindsandbytherulesthatshapesuchinteractions.Inthemodernworld,thetrafficofinternationalandevenintranationaleconomictransactionsisprofoundlyinfluencedbyanelaboratesystemoftreatiesandconventionsabouttrade,investments,loans,patents,copyrights,trademarks,doubletaxation,laborstandards,environmental protection, use of seabed resources, and much else.Insofarasweparticipateinthissystemandsharesomeresponsibilityforitsdesign,wearemorallyimplicatedinanycontributionitmakestoever‑increasingglobaleconomicinequalityandtotheconsequentpersistenceofseverepoverty.

Theseplainfactsaboutthecontemporaryworldrenderobsoletethetraditional sharpdistinctionbetween intranationaland internationalrelations.Untilthetwentiethcentury,thesewereseenasconstitutingdistinctworlds,theformerinhabitedbypersons,households,corpo‑rationsandassociationswithinoneterritoriallyboundedsociety,thelatterinhabitedbyasmallnumberofactors:sovereignstates.Nationalgovernments provided the link between these two worlds. On theinsidesuchagovernmentwasauniquelyimportantactorwithinthestate,interactingwithpersons,households,corporationsandassocia‑tions,anddominatingtheseotheractorsbyvirtueofitsspecialpowerandauthority—itsinternalsovereignty.Ontheoutside,thegovernmentwasthestate,recognizedasentitledtoactinitsname,tomakebindingagreementsonitsbehalf,andsoon—itsexternalsovereignty.Thoughlinkedinthisway,thetwoworldswereseenasseparate,andnormativeassessmentsunquestioninglytookthisseparationforgranted,sharplydistinguishingtwoseparatedomainsofmoraltheorizing.

�6. David Leonhardt: “Larry Summers’s Evolution,” New York Times Maga-zine, �0 June 2007.

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Today,verymuchmoreishappeningacrossnationalbordersthanmerelyinteractionsandrelationsamonggovernments.Foronething,therearemanyadditionalimportantactorsontheinternationalscene:internationalagencies,suchastheUnitedNations,theEuropeanUnion,theWorldTradeOrganization,theWorldBank,andtheInternationalMonetaryFund,aswellasmultinationalcorporationsandinternationalnon‑governmentalorganizations(NGOs).Interactionsandrelationsamongstatesandthesenewactorsarestructuredthroughhighlycom‑plexsystemsofrulesandpractices,somewithassociatedadjudicationandenforcementmechanisms.Thoseactorsandtheserulespowerfullyinfluencethedomesticlifeofnationalsocieties:throughtheirimpactonpollutionandclimatechange,invasivediseases,culture,andinformationtechnology,and(mostprofoundly)throughmarketforcesthatconditionaccesstocapitalandrawmaterials,exportopportunities,domestictaxbasesandtaxrates,prices,wages,laborstandards,andmuchelse.

Thisdoubletransformationofthetraditionalrealmofinternationalrelations—theproliferationoftransnationalactorsandtheprofoundinfluence of the systematic activities of these actors deep into thedomesticlifeofnationalsocieties—ispartofwhatisoftenmeantbythevaguetermglobalization.Ithelpsexplainwhy“global”isdisplacing“international”inbothexplanatoryandmoraltheorizing.Thistermino‑logicalshiftreflectsthatmuchmoreishappeningacrossnationalbordersthanmerelyinteractionsandrelationsamongstates.Italsoreflectsthattheverydistinctionbetweenthenationalandinternationalrealmsisdissolving.Withnationalborderslosingtheircausalandexplanatorysignificance,itappearsincreasinglyincongruousanddogmatictoinsistontheirtraditionalroleasmoralwatersheds.

Tocompletethepicture,letusnowattendtothedistinctionthatunderliesthedivisionofthisworkintotwovolumes.Therearedistinctwaysoflookingattheeventsofoursocialworld.Ontheonehand,wecanseesuchevents interactionally:asactions,andeffectsofactionsperformedbyindividualandcollectiveagents.Ontheotherhand,wecanseetheminstitutionally:aseffectsofhowoursocialworldisstruc‑turedandorganized—ofourlawsandconventions,practicesandsocialinstitutions.Thesetwowaysofviewingentaildifferentdescriptionsandexplanationsofsocialphenomena,andtheyalsoleadtotwodistinctkindsofmoralanalysisormoraldiagnostics.

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Takesomemorallysalientevent,forexamplethefactthatsomepar‑ticularchildsuffersfrommalnutrition,thatsomewomanisunemployed,orthatamanwashurtinatrafficaccident.Wecancausallytracesucheventsbacktotheconductofindividualandcollectiveagents,includ‑ingthepersonwhoissufferingtheharm.Doingsoinvolvesmakingcounterfactualstatementsabouthowthingswouldormighthavegonedifferentlyifthisorthatagenthadactedinsomeotherway.Wecanthensortthroughthesecounterfactualstatementsinordertodeterminewhetheranyofthecausallyrelevantagentsoughttohaveacteddiffer‑entlyandthusispartlyorwhollyatfaultfortheregrettableevent.Thiswillinvolveusinexaminingwhetheranysuchagentscouldhaveforeseenthattheirconductwouldleadtotheregrettableeventandcouldalsoreasonablyhaveavertedtheharmwithoutcausingsubstantialcoststothemselvesorthirdparties.Inquiriesofthiskindmightbereferredtoasinteractionalmoralanalysisorinteractionalmoraldiagnostics.

Often,regrettableeventscanalsobetracedbacktostandingfeaturesofthesocialsysteminwhichtheyoccur:toitsculture,forexample,ortoitsinstitutionalorder.Inthisvein,onemightcausallytracechildmal‑nutritionbacktohighimportdutiesonfoodstuffs,unemploymenttoarestrictivemonetarypolicy,andtrafficaccidentstothelackofregularmotorvehiclesafetyinspections.Doingsoinvolvesmakingcounterfac‑tualstatementsabouthowthingswouldormighthavegonedifferentlyifthisorthatsetofsocialruleshadbeendifferent.Wecanthensortthroughthesecounterfactualstatementsinordertodeterminewhetherthecaus‑allyrelevantrulesoughttohavebeendifferentandwhetheranyoneisresponsiblefordefectsintheserulesthatarepartlyorwhollytoblamefortheregrettableevents.Thiswillinvolveusinexaminingwhetherthoseresponsibleforthedesignoftherelevantrules—forinstance,membersofparliament—couldhaveforeseenthattheywouldleadtoharmandcouldreasonablyhavereformulatedtheruleswithoutcausingsubstantialharmelsewhere.Wemightrefertoinquiriesofthiskindasinstitutional moralanalysisorinstitutional moraldiagnostics.

Interactionalmoralanalysisemergedquiteearlyintheevolutionofmoralthought.Institutionalmoralanalysisismoredemanding,presup‑posinganunderstandingoftheconventional(ratherthannaturalordivine)natureofsocialrulesaswellasoftheir,oftenstatistical,compara‑tiveeffects.Evenamereeightyyearsago,thepoorandunemployedwere

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stilloftenseenaslazyanddelinquentmerelyonthegroundthatothersofequallyhumbleoriginshadrisenfromdishwashertomillionaire.Manypeoplethendidnotunderstandthestructuralconstraintsonsocialmobility:thatthepathwaystorichesarelimitedandthatthestructureofprevailingmarketsforcapitalandlaborunavoidablypro‑ducecertainbasicratesof(“structural”)unemploymentandpoverty.Nordid theyunderstand thatexisting ratesofunemploymentandpovertycouldbeinfluencedthroughintelligentredesignoftherules.Today,afterKeynes,theUSNewDeal,andvarioussimilarnationaltransformations,thesemattersarewellunderstood,andgovernmentsareheldresponsiblefortheirdecisionsregardinginstitutionaldesignandfortheeffectsofsuchdecisionsonthefulfillmentorfrustrationof human needs.This understanding has been—belatedly, yet veryadmirably—articulatedinphilosophythroughJohnRawls’sclassicATheoryofJustice.Throughthisgrandwork,Rawlshasfirmlyestablishedsocialinstitutionsasadistinctdomainofmoralassessmentandhasmarkedthisdomainterminologicallybyassociatingitwiththeterm(social)justice.Thisterminologicalinnovationhastakenhold,byandlarge,atleastinAnglophonephilosophy.Sothetermjusticeisnowpredominantinthemoralassessmentofsocialrules(laws,practices,socialconventions,andinstitutions)andusedonlyrarelyinthemoralassessmentoftheconductandcharacterofindividualandcollectiveagents.InthewakeofRawlsthedistinctionbetweeninstitutionalandinteractionalmoralanalysishascometobemarkedasadistinctionbetweenjusticeandethics.

WearequitefamiliartodaywiththefocusofRawls’sbook:withinstitutionalmoralanalysisappliedtotheinternalorganizationofonestate.Stillinitsinfancy,however,isinstitutionalmoralanalysisappliedbeyondthestate.Thistimelagishardlysurprising,seeingthattherealmofinternationalrelationsistraditionallyconceivedassomuchsmallerandmoresurveyablethanthevastandhighlycomplexinnerworkingsofamodernnationalsociety.Wedon’tneedinstitutionalmoralanalysis,itseems,foraworldofafewdozenrelevantactorsinwhich,whenbadthingshappen,itisusuallyprettyclearwhoseconductisatfault.AndRawlshimself,inhislateworkTheLawofPeoples,explicitlyshunnedsuchanalysisandconfinedhimselftodevelopinganddefendingasetofrulesofgoodconductforstates.

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Thephenomenaofglobalization,describedabove,showsuchanaccounttobedeeplyinadequatetotheworldinwhichwelive.Itignoresthe increasingly important transnational actors other than states aswellastheincreasinglyprofoundeffectstransnationalrules,practices,andactorshaveonthedomesticlifeofnationalsocieties.Shapingtheenvironment (e.g., global markets) in which national societies exist,such transnational rules and practices deeply shape these societiesthemselves:howtheygovernandtaxthemselves,howtheyorganizeeducation,healthcare,agriculture,anddefense,andhowtheyregulateforeigninvestment,intellectualpropertyrights,foreigntrade.Someofthis influence isduetocompetitivepressuresandtransnationalbar‑gaining.Someofitworksbyaffectingdomesticincentivesandpowerdistributions:Internationalrulesthatrecognizeanypersonorgroupexercisingeffectivepowerinalessdevelopedcountryasentitledtosellitsnaturalresources,toborrow,andtoimportweaponsinitsnamemakeitextremelytemptinginresource‑richsuchcountriestoattempttotakepowerbyforce.Thesecountriesarethereforeverylikelytoexperiencecoup attempts, civil wars, and repressive (often military) rule. Suchforeseeableeffectsoftransnationalinstitutionalarrangementsaresurelyrelevanttotheirmoralassessment,butotherfactorsmayberelevantaswell:thewaysucharrangementswerecreatedoremerged,forexample,andthejudgmentsandinterestsofpresentparticipantsintheseinsti‑tutionalarrangements.Thediscourseaboutglobaljusticeisaboutthisquestion,howtoassesstransnationalinstitutionalarrangements.

Justiceassessmentoftransnationalinstitutionalarrangementscanhave important implications for the conduct of individual and col‑lective actors participating in such arrangements: for governments,corporations, associations, and individuals. Insofar as transnationalarrangementsarejust,theirparticipantshavemoralreasontosupportthemandtocomplywiththem.Insofarassucharrangementsareunjust,theirparticipantshavemoralreasontoseektheirreformandpossiblyalsotohelpprotectsomeoftheirvictims.Suchdutiesmust,however,beintegratedintoalargeraccountofmoralresponsibilities.Victimsofunjusttransnationalarrangementsinwhichweareparticipantsarenottheonlyoneswhohaveaclaimtoourmoralattentionasindividu‑als.Wealsofacevictimsofnaturalcalamities,victimsofhistoricalorcontemporarywrongs (wrongsof colonialism, slavery, andgenocide,

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someperhapscommittedbyourowncountry),andvictimsofdomesticinjustice(associatedwithrace,gender,ethnicidentity,religionorsocialclass).Weconfrontglobalthreatsanddangers(proliferationofweaponsofmassdestruction,climatechange,newinfectiousdiseases)aswellaspersonalresponsibilitiestowardourfamily,friends,andprofessionalassociates.Andwehaveprojects,ambitions,needs,anddesiresofourownthatmilitateagainstdevotingourwholelivestoourvariousmoralresponsibilities.Thesituationofcollectiveagentsischaracterizedbyasimilarlydiverseandconfusingarrayofconflictingclaims.Governmentsmustbalance their special responsibilities toward theirowncitizensagainsttheirgeneralresponsibilitiestowardforeignnationalswhomayneedrefuge,protection,orassistance.Acorporationmustanalogouslybalanceitsspecialresponsibilitiestowarditsshareholders,customers,andthosewhoworkforitdirectlyorindirectlyagainstitsmoregen‑eralresponsibilitiestowardthecommunitiesinwhichitoperatesandtowardoutsiderswhomaybeaffectedbyitsactivitiesinmultifariousways.ReligiousorganizationsandNGOsmustsimilarlyintegratesuchmoregeneralandincreasinglyglobalresponsibilitieswiththeirspecialresponsibilitiestowardmembersandcontributorsaswellaswiththeirdefiningmissions.Foralltheseactors,gainingaclearmoralorientationisbecomingmoredifficultastheworldinwhichtheyoperatebecomeslargerandmoreinterdependent.Thediscourseaboutglobalethicsisabouthowsuchactorsshouldtakeintoaccountandfulfilltheirincreas‑inglycomplexandincreasinglytransnationalmoralresponsibilities.

Thetwo‑volumecollectionbeforeyoubringstogetherarepresen‑tativesamplingofthemostsignificant,mostoriginal,mostinfluentialwritingsmoral thinkershavecomposedon these issues in the threedecades following 1971.These essays are of continuing importancebecausetheyhavedevelopedthetermsinwhichtheseissuesaredebatedtoday.These essays have sharpened the concepts that dominate ourcurrentdiscussions,havecreatedthefaultlinesdividingpresentintel‑lectualcamps,andhaveinspiredorrevoltedthousandsoflaterwriters,students,andordinarycitizens.

Tobesure,thereisotherworkfromthesethreedecadesthatcouldplausibly have been included, as additions or substitutions. But wewantedamanageableandaffordablecollectionofuncutessaysandhaveworkedhardtoputtogetherasetofwritingsthat,together,optimally

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reflecttheformativedebates.Thedivisionoftheessaysintotwovolumesfollowsthedistinctionjustdrawnbetweenthetwomoralresponsibili‑tiesofgovernments,corporations,andindividuals.TheGlobalJusticevolumefeaturesessaysabouttheirpoliticalresponsibilitiesrelatingtoinstitutionaldesign.TheGlobalEthicsvolumefeaturesessaysabouttheirethicalresponsibilitieswithinthecontextoftheinternationalorderasitis.Evidently,notalltheselectedwritingsfallsquarelyononeortheothersideofthisdivide.Inhardcases,wewereguidedbytheaimofmakingeachvolumeasunifiedandself‑containedaspossible.

Aftermuchexperimentation,weconcludedthat,withineachvol‑ume,theessaysarebestpresentedinstraightchronologicalorderoftheirfirstpublication.Thisorderingcausesthematicleapsoccasionally,buttheessaysdonotdisplaysufficientuniformitiesofscopetosustainanyotherarrangement.Moreover,achronologicalreadingissurprisinglyilluminatingabouthowthemoraldebateaboutinternationalrelationsgraduallytookonitspresentshapeandstructure.Inanycase,readersandteacherswillfindtheirownselectionandorderingofthematerials.

For ease of use, we have inserted, in brackets, cross referenceswithinandacrossthetwovolumes.Crossreferenceswithinavolumeuse“herein”andcrossreferencestothecompanionvolumeuseitsfulltitleoritsacronym(GJSEorGESE).

Fromthebeginning,ithasbeenacentralconcernoftheeditorstomakethesetextsavailableatanaffordableprice.Wewantourcollectiontobewidelyaccessible—notmerelyintheaffluentregions,butespeciallyalsotostudentsinthepoorercountrieswhoarehugelyinterestedintheseissuesandalltoooftenlackelectronicaccesstojournals.Ithasnotbeeneasy.Butintheendwehaveachievedanincrediblylowsalespriceforvolumesofthissize.Forthis,theeditorsandreadershavetothank,firstandforemost,theCentreforAppliedPhilosophyandPublicEthicswhich,fundedbytheAustralianResearchCouncil,spansthreeinstitutions: Charles Sturt University, the University of Melbourne,andtheAustralianNationalUniversity.CAPPEhasabsorbedallthepermissionfeesasanethicalandhighlycost‑effectivewayofpromotingitsownmissionandhasalsofundedthecrucialassistancewereceivedfromDavidMollica,MattPeterson,TamaraShanley,andLingTongwhocompetentlyandcheerfullyconvertedourtablesofcontentsintotwoneatlyformattedvolumesoftextwithintroductorysummariesand

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index.WemustfurtherthankGordonAndersonandRosemaryYokoiofParagonHousewhowerereadytoshareourvisionandworkwithuswhileotherpublishersdeclaredtheprojecteconomicallyunviable.While some publishers have made extortionate demands for theircopyrights,forcingustomakesubstitutionsforsomeessays(thoughnot authors),most copyrightholdershavebeenwilling towaive,orgreatlytoreduce,theirusualcommercialreprintingrates.Wehavegrate‑fullyreceivedcost‑freepermissionsfromBilingualPress,fromMaryMalin(Elsevier),fromtheJournalofPhilosophywithauthorsCharlesBeitz,AvishaiMargalitandJosephRaz, fromtheNewYorkReviewofBooks,fromEricaWetter(NewYorkUniversityPress),fromPeterOhlin(OxfordUniversityPress,US),fromDennisMoran(ReviewofPolitics),fromRichardRorty,fromSpringer,fromtheUnitedNationsUniversity’sWorld Institute for Development Economics Research(UNU‑WIDER),andfromUtahUniversityPress.Tounderscorethenoncommercialcharacterofthiscollection,theeditorshaveassignedallroyaltiestoOxfam.

NewYork,13June2007,ThomasPogge

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