Do Rich Countries Have A Negative Duty to Fight Global Poverty?

Abstract

According to Thomas Pogge, citizens of rich countries are responsible for the extreme poverty that currently exists in the world. The reason is that their governments act to keep a global set of institutions in force which causes much of this poverty. Rich countries, Pogge holds, have the power to change the ruling arrangements in such ways that extreme poverty can be eradicated. A mere 1 percent of Global GNP (321 billion dollar) would suffice for bringing the 2.8 billion of people now eking out an existence below the poverty line of 2 dollar PPP (purchasing power parity) a day up to this threshold, by means of targeted and effective development programs. Pogge has long argued that a substantial reduction of global poverty is feasible through the creation of an international regime of taxation and redistribution, with actual consumption of oil and other natural resources figuring as the tax base. The tax liabilities so generated would largely fall on the rich countries, and would induce flows of transfers to poor countries sufficient to eradicate most severe poverty (on the 2 dollar PPP norm mentioned above), provided that tax revenues are administered under a worldwide development plan. This plan, the Global Resources Dividend, could constitute the core of a viable alternative set of global institutions, around which one would need to change the existing rules of trade, debt service, and international access to credit.KeywordsRich CountryExtreme PovertyInstitutional PerspectiveCausal HistoryGlobal OrderThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.