The Ethics of Assistance: Morality and the Distant Needy(Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy)

As globalization has deepened worldwide economic integration, moral and political philosophers have become increasingly concerned to assess duties to help needy people in foreign countries. The essays in this volume present the latest ideas on this important topic by authors who are leading figures in these debates. At issue are both the political responsibility of governments of affluent countries to relieve poverty abroad and the personal responsibility of individuals to assist the distant needy. The wide-ranging arguments shed light on global distributive justice, human rights and their implementation, the varieties of community and the obligations they generate, and the moral relevance of distance. This provocative and timely volume will interest scholars in ethics, political philosophy, political theory, international law and development economics, as well as policy makers, aid agencies, and general readers interested in the moral dimensions of poverty and affluence.

Table of Contents:
Preface; 1. Introduction Deen K. Chatterjee; Part I. The Ethics of Distance: 2. Outsiders: our obligation to those beyond our borders Peter Singer; 3. Moral limits on the demands of beneficence Richard J. Arneson; 4. The new problem of distance in morality F. M. Kamm; 5. Absence and the unfond heart: why people are less giving than they might be Judith Lichtenberg; Part II. Communities and Obligations: 6. Moral closeness and world community Richard W. Miller; 7. National responsibility and international justice David Miller; Part III. The Law of Peoples: 8. Women and theories of global justice: our need for new paradigms Martha Nussbaum; 9. Human rights as foreign policy imperatives Erin Kelly; 10. Human rights and the law of peoples Charles R. Beitz; Part IV. Rights, Responsibilities and Institutional Reforms: 11. Thickening convergence: human rights and cultural diversity Henry Shue; 12. Global justice: whose obligations? Onora O'Neill; 13. 'Assisting' the global poor Thomas W. Pogge.

About the Author :
Deen K. Chatterjee is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Utah. His areas of specialization are political philosophy, applied ethics, and philosophy of religion and culture. He is co-editor of Globalization, Development and Democracy (2003), and Ethics and Foreign Intervention (Cambridge, 2003).

Review :
'... contributions by many of the most important authors currently writing on the topics it covers ...' Ethical Perspectives 'This is a useful collection of thirteen original essays by accomplished philosophers on a subject of great importance: the problem of international ethical duties, especially the duties of people in well-off countries to improve the well-being of people in poor nations.' Journal of Utilitas