Duties of Charity, Duties of Justice

Abstract

Everyone agrees we have duties of charity, however restrictive a view they take of our duties of justice. But duties of charity can sometimes be stronger than duties of justice, and where they are, those owed duties of justice cannot complain when the duty-bearer discharges that duty of charity instead. Furthermore, duties of charity, being imperfect, require institutional specification to render them into perfect duties making clear who owes what to whom. Institutions do that by “consolidating” imperfect duties of charity. Such institutions would be very similar to those required by robust duties of justice. Anyone who takes appropriately seriously the duties of charity that everyone agrees we all have would thereby be led to prescribe broadly the same institutions as advocates of robust duties of justice.