[FIRST PARAGRAPHS] Human rights define the most fundamental responsibilities of those who hold power. In the
case of the Nazi officials, or those who ordered the Rwandan massacres, we do not need a
theory to tell us who was responsible for human rights being violated. The violators were
those who authorized and carried out the atrocities, who failed monumentally in their duties
toward their victims.
The subject of this volume presents a more troubling question: Who, if anyone, is
morally responsible for acting to alleviate severe poverty? Here our convictions are much less
steady. Are impoverished people responsible for improving their own condition? Or are the
leaders of their countries also responsible, or the members of the international community, or
we ourselves as individuals? When considering this question we tend to have the kinds of
reactions—avoidance of the topic, brief enthusiasm, nagging guilt—that indicate that we
perceive several strong and conflicting moral factors, but are unsure how to order these
factors so as to reach a firm conclusion. Here is where a philosophical account of
responsibility might help. What we want to know is how to determine who, if anyone, has
moral responsibility for ensuring that each person’s human human right to an adequate standard of living is secured. What we seek is a general theory that will tell us how to locate
responsibility for averting this kind of threat to individuals’ basic well-being
Is data on this page outdated, violates copyrights or anything else? Report the problem now and we will take corresponding actions after reviewing your request.