World Poverty and Human Rights: Cosmopolitan Responsibilities and Reforms

ISBN: 0745629954

Author: Pogge, Thomas W.

Condition: Used

The poorest 46 percent of humankind have 1.2 percent of global income.Their purchasing power per person per day is less than that of $2.15 inthe US in 1993; 826 million of them do not have enough to eat. One-thirdof all human deaths are from poverty-related causes: 18 millionannually, including 12 million children under five.At the other end, the 15 percent of humankind in the 'high-incomeeconomies' have 80 percent of global income. Shifting 1 or 2 percent ofour share toward poverty eradication seems morally compelling. Yet theprosperous 1990s have in fact brought a large shift toward greaterglobal inequality, as most of the affluent believe that they have nosuch responsibility.Thomas Pogge's book seeks to explain how this belief is sustained. Heanalyses how our moral and economic theorizing and our global economicorder have adapted to make us appear disconnected from massive povertyabroad. Dispelling the illusion, he also offers a modest, widelysharable standard of global economic justice and makes detailed,realistic proposals toward fulfilling it.