Global justice: From theory to practice

Abstract

Philosophical discussions of global justice often operate at an abstract level and rarely ask what specific policies should be adopted to bring about a fairer world. This essay aims to explore and investigate this kind of practical issue. It assumes a very minimal conception of global justice and then focuses on the question of which measures should be adopted to realize this minimal ideal. To do so it explores twelve separate measures, including debt cancellation, trade liberalization, global taxation, increased migration, and the implementation of international labour standards.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to Paul Williams for his very helpful comments on an earlier draft of this essay.

Notes

1. For further discussion see Caney (2005a, chapter 4), Jones (1999, chapter 3), and Shue (1996).

2. See http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/?lid = 247.

3. For instructive discussions of the Tobin tax see Garber and Taylor (1995); ul Haq, Kaul and Grunberg (1996); Patomäki (2001); and Wachtel (2000).

4. I am indebted to Matthew Watson for many helpful conversations about the Tobin tax and, in particular, for stressing that part of the case for a Tobin tax is that it contributes to financial stability and as such aids the poor. Any errors in my exposition of the Tobin tax are, of course, mine alone.

5. Cf. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/ratification/convention/text.htm.

6. For excellent analysis see Basu (1999) and Basu and Tzannatos (2003). See, further, the thorough analysis in IPEC's Investing in Every Child (2004). Cf. also Satz's (2003) interesting normative reflections on child labour.

7. This point goes back to Arthur Pigou (see Basu, 1999, p. 1094).

8. Some, of course, argue that aid merely helps to perpetuate unjust regimes. A full answer to this objection is not possible here. I would, though, reiterate the point made earlier to the effect that some policies (in this instance, overseas development aid) will work to their optimum if conjoined with a commitment to other policies (such as facilitating democratic accountability).

9. For a subtle version of this collectivist argument against immigration which does recognize its limits: see Black (1991). For excellent analysis of the ethical issues surrounding free movement see Bader (1997), Barry and Goodin (1992)

10. See also Collier and Hoeffler (2004, pp. 131–136).

11. For further instructive analysis of how conflict damages development see Stewart et al. (2001) and UNDP (2005, chapter 5).

12. For a different taxonomy of measures to address global poverty see Jan Aart Scholte's list of seven measures (2000, pp. 298–302).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Simon Caney

Simon Caney is Professor in Political Theory at the University of Birmingham. He is the author of Justice Beyond Borders: A Global Political Theory (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005). He has published articles in politics, philosophy, law and international relations journals. His recent publications include articles in Review of International Studies and Leiden Journal of International Law, and a chapter in Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right: Who Owes What to the Very Poor? (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2006). He is currently writing a book (under contract to Oxford University Press) defending a cosmopolitan approach to global economic, environmental, and political justice.