Poverty, Negative Duties, and the Global Institutional Order

Do we violate human rights when we cooperate with and impose a globalinstitutional order that engenders extreme poverty? Thomas Pogge argues thatby shaping and enforcing the social conditions that foreseeably and avoidablycause global poverty we are violating the negative duty not to cooperate in theimposition of a coercive institutional order that avoidably leaves human rightsunfulfilled. This article argues that Pogge’s argument fails to distinguishbetween harms caused by the global institutions themselves and harms causedby the domestic policies of particular states and collective action problems forwhich collective responsibility cannot be assigned. The article also argues thathis position relies on questionable factual and theoretical claims about theimpact of global institutions on poverty, and about the benefits and harms ofcertain features of these institutions. Participation in, and benefit from, globalinstitutions is unlikely to constitute a violation of our negative duties towardsthe poor