Fair trade: global problems and individual responsibilities

Sarah C. Goff

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: The topic of global trade has become central to debates on global justice and on duties to the global poor, two important concerns of contemporary political theory. However, the leading approaches fail to directly address the participants in trade and provide them with normative guidance for making choices in non-ideal circumstances. This paper contributes an account of individuals’ responsibilities for global problems in general, an account of individuals’ responsibilities as market actors, and an explanation of how these responsibilities coexist. The argument is developed through an extended case study of a consumer’s choice between conventional and fair trade coffee. My argument is that the coffee consumer’s choice requires consideration of two distinct responsibilities. First, she has responsibilities to help meet foreigners’ claims for assistance. Second, she has moral responsibilities to ensure that trades, such as between herself and a coffee farmer, are fair rather than exploitative.

Keywords: fair trade; exploitation; responsibility; global justice; ethical consumerism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016-11-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hpe and nep-int
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Published in Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 6, November, 2016, pp. 1-23. ISSN: 1369-8230

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