Part II: Political Philosophy

Chapter 7

Study questions for What is Global Justice?

  1. Can and should our group memberships, as co-citizens or co-nationals, give rise to special obligations binding only to fellow group members?
  2. Should we accept the cosmopolitan view that justice should be universal?
  3. Do you find statism more convincing than cosmopolitanism? Is there a middle ground between them?
  4. Which do you prefer – the ecological footprint or the polluter pays principle?
  5. If we could adapt to future climate changes, should we do it?

Multiple Choice Questions

Weblinks for What is global justice?

Blake, M. and Smith, P. (2013). ‘International Distributive Justice’. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/international-justice/. [Excellent overview of global justice and issues of international distribution.]

Brooks, T. (2013). The ‘Life in the United Kingdom’ Citizenship Test: Is It Unfit for Purpose? Durham University Press, http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2280329. [The only comprehensive report into the UK citizenship test available. Influential and repeatedly cited in parliamentary debates.]

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, http://www.ipcc.ch/. [Homepage for the IPCC and its scientific and ethical assessment reports. Essential reading on climate change.]

Kleigeld, P. and Brown, E. (2013). ‘Cosmopolitanism’. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cosmopolitanism/. [Accessible and comprehensive coverage of cosmopolitanism that is a necessary starting point for anyone coming to the topic for the first time].

Introductory further reading for What is global justice?

Brooks, T. (ed.) (2008). The Global Justice Reader. Blackwell. [The most comprehensive collection of contemporary and historically influential work on global justice available.]

Gardiner, S. (2004). ‘Ethics and Global Climate Change’. Ethics 114: 555–600. [A comprehensive overview of the research and ethics of global climate change. Essential reading for a fuller understanding of the subject.]

Singer, P. (1972). ‘Famine, Affluence, and Morality’. Philosophy and Public Affairs 1: 229–43. [The article that effectively launched contemporary work in global justice. Powerful and controversial defence of positive duties and global justice.]

Advanced further reading for What is global justice?

Brock, G. (2009). Global Justice: A Cosmopolitan Account. Oxford University Press. [A major contribution to cosmopolitan theories of global justice and how they can interact with non-cosmopolitan approaches.]

Caney, S. (2005). ‘Cosmopolitan Justice, Responsibility and Global Climate Change’. Leiden Journal of International Law 18: 747–75. [Influential argument in favour of the polluter pays principle. Excellent critical examination of this principle and its critics.]

Kahn, M. (2010). Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive in the Hotter Future. Basic Books. [An economist providing an argument for adaptation instead of conservationism in addressing climate change.]

Kant, I. (1991). Political Writings. Cambridge University Press. [In hisPerpetual Peaceessay, he sets out a highly influential account of cosmopolitanism and being without a world-state.]

Miller, D. (2008). National Responsibility and Global Justice. Oxford University Press. [The leading statement of ethical nationalism and anti-cosmopolitanism. Contains fascinating analysis of what a just non-cosmopolitan distributive justice should look like.]

Pogge, T. (2008). World Poverty and Human Rights. Polity. [Influential cosmopolitan argument  for viewing global justice through the lens of negative duties.]

Wackernagel, M. and Reiss, W. (1996). Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth. New Society Publishers. [The key work behind the idea of the ecological footprint. Highly influential for many working in environmental ethics.]