4. Arguments from Harm

James Grant, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Oxford, discusses arguments that claim citizens of rich countries are responsible for harming poor people in other countries. He focuses on Thomas Pogge's influential argument for this conclusion, as well as Pogge's proposals for reforming international institutions.

James Grant, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Oxford, discusses the debate over whether distributive justice requires that well-off people do something about poverty in other countries. 'Cosmopolitan' philosophers, such as Charles Beitz and Simon Caney, argue that it does. Anti-cosmopolitans, such as John Rawls and Thomas Nagel, deny this.

James Grant, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Oxford, discusses objections to the belief that well-off people have extremely demanding obligations to poor people in other countries. The views of J. L. Mackie, Bernard Williams, Samuel Scheffler, Liam Murphy and Garrett Cullity are considered. He then considers Murphy and Cullity's arguments that well-off people have less demanding obligations to poor people in other countries.

James Grant, Lecturer in Philosophy at Oxford University, introduces some of the key concepts in philosophical debates about global poverty. He then discusses Peter Singer's argument that not donating to aid agencies is as wrong as letting a drowning child die.