What is international (global) justice?
Justice means fairness. Global justice asks what countries and people across the world owe each other. Many think basic needs such as food, water, health and school are human rights for everyone, wherever they are born. Another view says each country's government is mainly responsible for its own people. Most people accept a mix: countries look after their own, and richer countries also have a duty to help.
Peace and justice go together. Where people feel treated unfairly, conflict is more likely, and war itself makes people poor. So many nations work through the United Nations, courts and agreements to settle disputes without war.
Reducing inequality
The world is very unequal: a few countries have very high income and many have low. Causes include history, geography, wars, weak schools and health, unfair trade rules and unfair debts. Inequality also exists within countries.
To reduce it: invest in schools and health, help poorer countries sell goods at fair prices, share new technology, cancel unpayable debts, and give poorer countries a stronger voice in world rules. The aim is to raise the short towers so everyone can live a decent life, not to cut others down.
Fair trade
Fair trade means that farmers and workers get a fair price and safe conditions, and that children are not made to work. Buyers pay a little more, usually a minimum price and a small extra for the community. This lifts the producer's share of the price, as in the sack in the 3D.
Critics say fair trade reaches only some producers and the extra cost may not always reach farmers. Still, it shows that where we spend money affects other people's lives.
Development aid (ODA)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) is money, goods or expert help that governments give to poorer countries for development, such as schools, clinics, water and roads. Good aid is open, matches what the receiving people really need, and helps them become self-reliant.
Ethical questions: Is aid a duty or charity? Does it come with strings that serve the giver? Does it build local skills, or create dependence? Does it reach the people who need it? Good aid answers all four well.
Try it
1. In the 3D, set Fair trade to 100 and Aid to 0. Note the gap. Then set Aid to 100 too. What is the gap now?
2. Look at a packet of tea or chocolate at home or in a shop. Is there a fair trade mark? Write down one thing you learned.
Key formulas and definitions
- Gap = income of richest ÷ income of poorest
- Producer's share = price the farmer gets ÷ price in the shop
- Key terms: fair trade, ODA (aid), inequality, global justice
- Reducing the gap = raise the poorest income (not cut the richest)
Worked examples
1. Richest country income = 10 units, poorest = 1. What is the gap?
Gap = 10 ÷ 1 = 10 times.
2. A shop sells a packet of tea for 100 rupees. The farmer gets 10 rupees. What is the farmer's share? What if fair trade raises it to 25 rupees?
Share = 10 ÷ 100 = 10%. After fair trade: 25 ÷ 100 = 25%.
3. Poorest country income is 1. Fair trade adds 1.5 and aid adds 2.5. Richest is 10. What is the new gap?
Poorest = 1 + 1.5 + 2.5 = 5. Gap = 10 ÷ 5 = 2 times.
Common mistakes
- Thinking global justice means cutting rich countries down. It aims to raise the poor.
- Thinking aid always works. Aid with strings or without local control can fail.
- Believing inequality is only between countries. It exists inside countries too.
- Thinking peace and justice are separate. Unfairness can cause conflict.