Human Rights, Obligations, And World Hunger - 1783 Words

Many moral theories have been proposed to understanding our obligations and responding to the perceived injustices present in the world such as world hunger and world poverty, two of the most prominent of these theories are utilitarianism, and human rights. In her essay ‘Rights, Obligations, and World Hunger’, Onora O’Neill critically examines these theories and highlights their inadequacy towards understanding our obligations towards alleviating world poverty, then goes on to propose a third alternative theory to the aforementioned theories, which she believes is better suited. The theory she proposes is that of the Kantian ethical theory developed by 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant. This theory is indeed the best suited to understanding our obligations to alleviating world poverty. Before expounding on the Kantian theory that O’Neill proposes, and why it is the optimal approach for understanding our obligations to those suffering from world pover ty, I will very briefly summarise the other two moral theories, and explain why O’Neill is correct in her assessment that they are inadequate to dealing with the problem at hand. Utilitarianism is the moral theory which proposes that the best and correct course of action to take is that which will maximize happiness and minimize suffering. In relation to world poverty, it would seem that the most appropriate action to take from a utilitarianism perspective would be something akin to what utilitarian Peter SingerShow MoreRelatedRight to Food Essay560 Words   |  3 PagesRIGHT TO FOOD Right to Food is a human right i.e. access to the adequate food is fundamental right of human. It protects the right of all human begins to live in self-respect, free from food uncertainty, starvation and malnutrition. 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