odespinner

I am studying Global Justice in the first year of a postgraduate course on Philosophy.  I have read the theories, arguments, and opinions of some eminent philosophers on the topic of redistribution of wealth from  wealthy nations to alleviate poverty in poorer nations.

Mostly, the arguments are in favour of humanitarian respo ses to famine. The surprising fact is how little data is available on the long-term effects of giving aid to impoverished countries. Those countries affected by famine are probably too busy trying to save lives to gather statistics on long-term outcomes of foreign aid giving. Some argue that giving to corrupt governments is only asking for the misappropriation of money raised. Others argue that the current world order unfairly favours those nations who got rich by conquest and the theft of valuable commodities like tea, rubber, spices, sugar, etc.

There are some who call for the reform of institutions that are biased towards wealthy nations, and Peter Singer asks us to rethink our attitude towards ‘charity’ and   acknowledge our responsibility to other human beings in dire straits.

John Rawls is an advocate of reciprocal arrangements with ‘decent’ sovereign states. He thought that it was only possible to achieve desirable goals by having governments that could command sovereign power with the means to enforce measures if faced with civil opposition