The Weight of the Duty of Assistance to Foreign Peoples Facing Domestic Justice Demands

Abstract

Adopting a conception of domestic justice committed to the redistribution of income would seem to lead to a dilemma. Regardless of whether the current institutional framework is just or not, no resources remain available to face foreign demands of justice. The Rawlsian conception of justice appears to fall prey to this dilemma. If the demands of the principle of difference formulated in A Theory of Justice are satisfied in the domestic domain, there would seem to be no resources left for the satisfaction of the duty of assistance consigned in The Law of Peoples for the international domain. I explore a solution to the dilemma —within the framework of justice as fairness— based on the existing analogy between the duty of just saving and the duty of assistance. Finally, I show the radical practical consequences that result from the solution proposed.