Collective responsibility and global poverty

In this chapter I outline my individualist, teleological (normative) account of socialinstitutions and apply it to welfare institutions or, at least, to one kind of welfare insti-tution, namely international institutions concerned with global poverty. I do so in thecontext of the assumption that, speaking generally, basic needs, for example for food,clean water, shelter, medicines, etc. are, and ought to be, provided for by nonwelfareinstitutions, notably by business organizations operating in competitive markets. Never theless, given the manifest and ongoing failure on the part of such organizations,including in relation to global poverty, there is a need for welfare institutions. In addi-tion, as will become evident below, there is a need to redesign markets and market-based organizations so that they are better able to provide for basic needs