TY - JOUR
T1 - Poverty and the moral significance of contribution
AU - Overland, Gerhard
N1 - Imported on 12 Apr 2017 - DigiTool details were: Journal title (773t) = Journal of Moral Philosophy. ISSNs: 1740-4681;
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - The main thesis of the article is that one's responsibility to render assistance is not affected by having contributed to the situation by causing harm. I examine ways in which contribution to need is morally significant. Although contribution is relevant with regard to certain features, such as questions of blame, compensation, and fair distribution of the cost of assistance, I argue that contribution should carry no weight when assessing our duty to assist people in severe need if we can do so at little cost. If this is true we have reason to suspect that it is redundant to know whether or not we have in fact contributed to the need of the global poor when assessing our duty to address global poverty.
AB - The main thesis of the article is that one's responsibility to render assistance is not affected by having contributed to the situation by causing harm. I examine ways in which contribution to need is morally significant. Although contribution is relevant with regard to certain features, such as questions of blame, compensation, and fair distribution of the cost of assistance, I argue that contribution should carry no weight when assessing our duty to assist people in severe need if we can do so at little cost. If this is true we have reason to suspect that it is redundant to know whether or not we have in fact contributed to the need of the global poor when assessing our duty to address global poverty.
KW - Open access version available
U2 - 10.1177/1740468105059325
DO - 10.1177/1740468105059325
M3 - Article
VL - 2
SP - 299
EP - 315
JO - Journal of Moral Philosophy
JF - Journal of Moral Philosophy
SN - 1740-4681
IS - 3
ER -