What do we owe the global poor? Caney (2007) answers this long-standing philosophical question by arguing that there is a negative duty of justice not to foist an unjust global order on others and...Show moreWhat do we owe the global poor? Caney (2007) answers this long-standing philosophical question by arguing that there is a negative duty of justice not to foist an unjust global order on others and a positive duty of justice to eradicate all poverty that did not arise from the imposition of this unjust order. In this thesis, I argue that the first part of Caney’s conception is too narrow, and the second part is too broad. The first part of his conception is too narrow in scope because it attributes duties only to a limited number of people through membership of a relatively fixed shared structure. I argue, instead, that one gains a duty by being causally connected to the harm. This is a more inclusive broader approach that can account for almost all cases of poverty. The second part of Caney’s conception is too broad, I argue, since it is not a perfect duty of justice but an imperfect duty. My claim is that duties must be primarily attributed through causal connection and that for a perfect duty to arise a causal connection is crucial. Therefore, I argue that there is a perfect duty through causal connection and an imperfect duty without causal connection.Show less
