Henry Shue: Global Environment and International Inequality
In "Global Environment and International Inequality," Henry Shue is concerned with the question of how the costs and burdens of protecting the environment should be divided among the countries of the world, especially in light of the inequalities of wealth that currently exist between them. Shue's answer is that the costs should initially be borne by wealthy industrialized nations, which he defends on the basis of three principles of equity he takes to be commonsensical and philosophically uncontroversial.
The first of these three principles states that any parties that gain an unfair advantage by imposing costs on others without their consent should bear the burden of correcting the inequalities their actions generated. According to the second principle, when several parties are engaged in a common project, those with the most resources should contribute the most. The final principle concerns conditions of what Shue calls "radical inequality." Radical inequality obtains between parties when (i) there are enough total resources for all parties to have more than enough to live decently; (ii) some parties have more than enough and in some cases much more than enough; and (iii) some parties have less than enough. Under such conditions, the third principle states that everyone should be guaranteed an adequate minimum standard of living. This principle can be interpreted in stronger and weaker forms, with the former requiring direct provisions of assistance and the latter only non-interference. But in either case according to Shue, the principle supports the same practical conclusion as the previous two: fairness requires that the costs of environmental protection be borne by wealthy industrialized states.
-According to Shue, the main beneficiaries of the third principle of equity are:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer of Henry Shue: Global Environment and International Inequality
In "Global Environment and International Inequality," Henry Shue is concerned with the question of how the costs and burdens of protecting the environment should be divided among the countries of the world, especially in light of the inequalities of wealth that currently exist between them. Shue's answer is that the costs should initially be borne by wealthy industrialized nations, which he defends on the basis of three principles of equity he takes to be commonsensical and philosophically uncontroversial.
The first of these three principles states that any parties that gain an unfair advantage by imposing costs on others without their consent should bear the burden of correcting the inequalities their actions generated. According to the second principle, when several parties are engaged in a common project, those with the most resources should contribute the most. The final principle concerns conditions of what Shue calls "radical inequality." Radical inequality obtains between parties when (i) there are enough total resources for all parties to have more than enough to live decently; (ii) some parties have more than enough and in some cases much more than enough; and (iii) some parties have less than enough. Under such conditions, the third principle states that everyone should be guaranteed an adequate minimum standard of living. This principle can be interpreted in stronger and weaker forms, with the former requiring direct provisions of assistance and the latter only non-interference. But in either case according to Shue, the principle supports the same practical conclusion as the previous two: fairness requires that the costs of environmental protection be borne by wealthy industrialized states.
-According to Shue, the main beneficiaries of the third principle of equity are: