Global Justice and Psychology European Representations of African Poverty

Abstract

No-one denies the contemporary extent of severe poverty, and many people in affluent countries are aware that the current global economic order goes back to a long and ongoing history of colonialism and exploitation. This is said to be the first point in history at which we have the technological skills and the resources to eradicate global poverty, and by our own proclaimed ethical standards we are obliged to do so.

In the struggle against poverty, the perception of causes and interrelations plays a crucial role. This ascription of causes determines not only our choice of the methods with which we hope to combat poverty, but also our motivation. The questions arise: Why do so many people decry the evils of poverty but do relatively little about it? How is our moral world view structured, and which position in it do we assign to ourselves?