Sufficiency, Equality and the Consequences of Global Coercion

In some discussions on global distributive justice, it is argued that the fact
that the state exercises coercive authority over its own citizens explains why
the state has egalitarian distributive obligations to its own but not to other
individuals in the world at large. Two recent works make the case that the global
order is indeed coercive in a morally significant way for generating certain
global distributive obligations. Nicole Hassoun argues that the coercive
character of the global order gives rise to global duties of humanitarian aid.
Laura Valentini argues that the existence of global coercion triggers global
distributive duties more demanding than mere humanitarianism, but not
necessarily as demanding as cosmopolitan egalitarian duties. This review
essay suggests that Hassoun’s and Valentini’s depictions of the global order
as coercive entitle them to the stronger conclusion that there are global
egalitarian duties.