ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how a broad range of ethical approaches – chiefly approaches associated with utilitarianism, social contract theory in its several varieties, and communitarianism – might impose duties regarding global development that extend beyond the baselines protected by human rights. An area of development that clearly demonstrates how this is so is global trade. In particular, this chapter examines arguments advanced from all of these perspectives that bear on the question whether trade is truly an engine of development and if it is, how it can be made to be fair. The chapter discusses a number of criticisms directed against the current global trade regime, including that it is not free, fair, respectful of local communities, or conducive to empowering developing nations as independent partners in the global order.
