INTRODUCTION

In moving from local to global frameworks the unjust distribution of wealth is perhaps the most pressing issue of global injustice. What ethical reasons and justifications are there for 10 per cent of the world's population holding 90 per cent of the world's wealth and resources? This chapter will address this unjust distribution of wealth, with a particular focus on the north-south divide (as always, such terms as “north”, “south”, “Western”, “non-Western”, “developing” and “developed” can be problematic and should be regarded as mapping general trends rather than as definitive definitions).

The problem of poverty is to some a perennial problem, and some argue that it is one that is irresolvable. This said, in the context of globalization the issues of global poverty cannot be dismissed so easily. This is true both politically, where there are international and national programmes for debt relief and aid, and also individually, as individuals respond to appeals for aid in huge numbers. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; 2010) reports the level of Official Development Assistance (a term that refers to international aid provided by government institutions) as (in US dollars or equivalent):

1. • US$28 billion from the US (0.2 per cent of its gross national income [GNI]);

2. • US$11.5 billion from the UK (0.52 per cent GNI);

3. • US$6.4 billion from the Netherlands (0.8 per cent GNI); and

4. • US$2.7 billion from Australia (0.29 per cent GNI).