Distributive justice is a concept commonly associated with John Rawls and is concerned with the distribution of resources in society

in a just and fair manner. Yet Rawls distributive justice is mainly considered within a statist framework while Global Distributive Justice theorists more often take a cosmopolitan approach. Global Distributive Justice theory therefore takes the position that the world is inherently unjust and looks at why this is and how to alleviate this.

Claims of global distributive justice stem first from the understanding that world is unjust in its economic distribution. Pogge argues a history of colonialism, slavery and genocide are largely to blame for such radical inequalities in the world. These past injustices have allowed the west its privileged economic position it holds in the modern day and as such it owes recompense as a matter of justice. In turn he highlights how factors in the economic system serves to limit the chance and speed of development in the global south. Such factors arguably violate human rights.

Given the cosmopolitan approach there is a focus on asserting the human rights of every human, regardless of national citizenship. As such we need to think beyond the nation state in what we owe to others as part of a Global society. However Universal Human Rights are still open to much criticism. Such as their appearance as a liberal political value, and therefore an instance of partisanship rather than a neutral basis for global agreement. Aswell as their capacity to be abused to serve neo-colonial ends.

Caney also questions the capacity of the statist system to enable Global Distributive Justice. Firstly the statist system suffers from moral arbitrariness by allowing states borders to determine rights to justice. It is argued that if the current global statist system encourages injustice towards the global poor then it forfeits any claim to compliance from them. Also there are problems such as climate change that cannot be dealt with by any single state alone.

Detractors of the theory are often concerned about its seeming necessity for some form of global governance to implement. But Pogge suggests it would not necessarily have to be so. He suggests a Global Resource Tax which could then be spent on human development. It would not require the dissolution of states but it would likely require expanded supranational institutions and NGOs

Global Distributive Justice is arguably a noble goal but it is often criticized for being too theoretical and hence unrealistic. It is a helpful critical approach in so much as it looks at structural and historical factors to explain global inequality. Good that it stresses the moral importance of rectifying inequality beyond the usual answer of Charity.