Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T20:09:17.503Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Democratic altruism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2020

Ana Tanasoca Open the ORCID record for Ana Tanasoca [Opens in a new window]  and
John S. Dryzek
Ana Tanasoca*
Affiliation:
Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
John S. Dryzek
Affiliation:
Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Transnational altruism comes in many forms, prominently among them private giving through charitable NGOs. This paper focuses on the altruistic actions of those giving to charitable organizations and especially on the subsequent altruistic choices of those second-order, donor-organizations. Leaving choices about how donated money should be used exclusively in the hands of donors is morally problematic in various ways. This is why transnational relationships that involve private giving from rich to poor should be democratized. We propose thus a new moral principle for guiding altruistic behavior: democratic altruism. We develop our argument by focusing on the moral powers and formative agency that donors exercise through their charitable behavior, in particular through their choice to support particular types of aid or organizations. We argue that if and when donors give, they should do so in a way that allows the poor to exercise formative agency as well, in decisions over how donated resources should be used on the ground.

Keywords

altruismeffective altruismcharityjusticeglobal povertyaffected interests
Type
Research Article
Information
International Theory , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , July 2021 , pp. 205 - 230
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, Elizabeth S. 1999. “What is the Point of Equality?” Ethics 109: 287–338.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barry, Brian. 1982. “Humanity and Justice in Global Perspective.” In Nomos XXIV: Ethics, Economics and the Law, edited by Pennock, J. R., and Chapman, J. W., 219–52. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Barry, Brian. 1986. “Lady Chatterley's Lover and Doctor Fischer's Bomb Party: Liberalism, Pareto Optimality and the Problem of Objectionable Preferences.” In Foundations of Social Choice Theory, edited by Jon, Elster and Hylland, Aanund, 11–44. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Brennan, Geoffrey, Eriksson, Lina, Goodin, Robert E., and Southwood, Nicholas. 2013. Explaining Norms. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brighouse, Harry, and Fleurbaey, Marc. 2010. “Proportionality and Democracy.” Journal of Political Philosophy 18: 137–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burns, Danny, Howard, Jo, Lopez-Franco, Erika, Shahrokh, Thea, and Wheeler, Joanna. 2013. Work with Us: How People and Organisations can Catalyse Sustainable Change. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.Google Scholar
Carroll, Aaron E., and Bach, Peter B.. 2018. The problem with charitable giving. New York Times, November 27. Available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/opinion/donation-tax-deduction.html.Google Scholar
Clough, Emily. 2015. Effective altruism's political blind spot. Boston Review. http://bostonreview.net/world/emily-clough-effective-altruism-ngos?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20586190&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_mtP8JHtkyMMIzYcAO0l_vB59khEHm2kpRbzfM6LKcbtLGAJrRRbFZfQl2DWsyn5FYEYRlJzSkS7RpxCISCEJiIxTDAA&_hsmi=20586190.Google Scholar
Cohen, Nick. 2019. Forget philanthropy. The super-rich should be paying proper taxes. Guardian, February 3. Available at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/02/forget-philanthropy-super-rich-should-be-paying-proper-taxes.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert. 1956. A Preface to Democratic Theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert. 1982. Dilemmas of Pluralist Democracy. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Deveaux, Monique. 2015. “The Global Poor as Agents of Justice.” Journal of Moral Philosophy 12: 125–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deveaux, Monique. 2018. “Poor-Led Social Movements and Global Justice.” Political Theory 46 (5): 698–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dillon, Robin S. 2018. Respect. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Zalta, Edward N., (Spring 2018 Edition). Palo Alto: Stanford. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2018/entries/respect/.Google Scholar
Dryzek, John S. 1990. Discursive Democracy: Politics, Policy, and Political Science. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dryzek, John S. 2015. “Democratic Agents of Justice.” Journal of Political Philosophy 23: 361–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dryzek, John S., and Pickering, Jonathan. 2018. The Politics of the Anthropocene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dryzek, John S., and Tanasoca, Ana. Forthcoming. Democratizing Global Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dworkin, Ronald M. 1977. Taking Rights Seriously. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Esman, Milton J., and Uphoff, Norman. 1984. Local Organizations: Intermediaries in Rural Development. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Forst, Rainer. 2011. The Right to Justification: Elements of a Constructivist Theory of Justice. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Frankfurt, Harry. 1984. “Necessity and Desire.” Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 45: 1–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraser, Nancy, and Honneth, Axel. 2003. Redistribution or Recognition? A Political-Philosophical Exchange. New York: Verso.Google Scholar
Gabriel, Iason. 2017. “Effective Altruism and its Critics.” Journal of Applied Philosophy 34: 457–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodin, Robert E. 2004. “Support with Strings: Workfare as an ‘Impermissible Condition’.” Journal of Applied Philosophy 21: 297–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodin, Robert E. 2007. “Enfranchising all Affected Interests and its Alternatives.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 35: 40–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodin, Robert E. 2017. “Duties of Charity, Duties of Justice.” Political Studies 65: 268–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goodin, Robert E., and Spiekermann, Kai. 2018. An Epistemic Theory of Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haraway, Donna. 1988. “Situated Knowledges: The Science Question in Feminism and the Privilege of Partial Perspective.” Feminist Studies 14: 575–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, Herbert L. A. 1955. “Are There any Natural Rights?” Philosophical Review 64: 175–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Honneth, Axel. 1996. The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts. Translation by Joel Anderson. Cambridge: Polity.Google Scholar
International Telecommunications Union. 2019. Measuring Digital Development: Facts and Figures 2019. Geneva: ITU.Google Scholar
Kant, Immanuel. [1785] 1996. “Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals.” Pp. 37–108 in Immanuel Kant, Practical Philosophy, edited by Gregor, Mary. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kant, Immanuel. [1788] 1996. “Critique of Practical Reason.” Pp. 133–272 in Immanuel Kant, Practical Philosophy, edited by Mary, Gregor. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kant, Immanuel. [1797] 1996. “The Metaphysics of Morals.” Pp. 353–604 in Immanuel Kant, Practical Philosophy, edited by Gregor, Mary. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kuper, Andrew. 2002. “More than Charity: Cosmopolitan Alternatives to the ‘Singer Solution.’” Ethics and International Affairs 16: 107–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landemore, Hélène. 2013. Democratic Reason: Politics, Collective Intelligence, and the Rule of the Many. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Lippert-Rasmussen, Kasper. 2018. Relational Egalitarianism: Living as Equals. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lo, Alex, and Spash, Clive. 2013. “Deliberative Monetary Valuation: In Search of a Democratic and Value Plural Approach to Environmental Policy.” Journal of Economic Surveys 27 (4): 768–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacAskill, William. 2015. Doing Good Better: How Effective Altruism can Help You Make a Difference. New York: Gotham Books.Google Scholar
Mercier, Hugo and Landemore, Hélène. 2012. “Reasoning is for Arguing: Understanding the Successes and Failures of Deliberation.” Political Psychology 33: 243–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narayan, Deepa. 2002. Empowerment and Poverty Reduction: A Sourcebook. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Narayan, Deepa, Patel, Raj, Schafft, Kai, Rademacher, Anne, and Koch-Schulte, Sarah. 2000. Voices of the Poor: Can Anyone Hear Us? New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Narveson, Jan. 1988. The Libertarian Idea. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
O'Neill, Onora. 1986. Faces of Hunger: An Essay on Poverty, Justice and Development. London: Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
O'Neill, Onora. 2001. “Agents of Justice.” Metaphilosophy 32: 180–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owens, David. 2019. “Property and Authority.” Journal of Political Philosophy 27: 271–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettit, Philip. 1997. Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pummer, Theron. 2016. “Whether and Where to Give.” Philosophy & Public Affairs 44: 77–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawls, John. 2001. Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Reich, Rob. 2018. Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rubenstein, Jennifer. 2016. “The Lessons of Effective Altruism.” Ethics and International Affairs 30: 511–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sanyal, Paromita, and Rao, Vijayendra. 2019. Oral Democracy: Deliberation in Indian Village Assemblies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Saunders-Hastings, Emma. 2018. “Plutocratic Philanthropy.” Journal of Politics 80: 149–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scanlon, Thomas M. 1975. “Preference and Urgency.” Journal of Philosophy 72: 655–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheffler, Samuel. 1982. The Rejection of Consequentialism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Shahrokh, Thea and Wheeler, Joanna, eds. 2014. The Participate Anthology. Brighton: Institute of Development Studies.Google Scholar
Singer, Peter. 2015. The Most Good You Can Do: How Effective Altruism is Changing Ideals About Living Ethically. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Taylor, Charles. 1992. Multiculturalism and ‘the Politics of Recognition’. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Upadhyaya, K., and Beier, M.. 1993. Linking Food Relief and Development: A Matter of Good Governance. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Valentini, Laura. 2013. “Justice, Charity and Disaster Relief: What, if Anything, is Owed to Haiti, Japan and New Zealand?” American Journal of Political Science 57: 491–503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wenar, Leif. 2011. “Poverty is no Pond: Challenges for the Affluent.” In Giving Well: The Ethics of Philanthropy, edited by Patricia, Illingworth, Pogge, Thomas and Wenar, Leif, 104–32. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whelan, Frederick G. 1983. “Democratic Theory and the Boundary Problem.” In Nomos XXV: Liberal Democracy, edited by Pennock, J R and Chapman, JW, 13–47. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Wisor, Scott. 2012. “After the MDGs: Citizen Deliberation and the Post-2015 Development Framework.” Ethics and International Affairs 26 (1): 113–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Bank. 2004. Indigenous Knowledge: Local Pathways to Global Development. Marking Five Years of the World Bank Indigenous Knowledge for Development Program. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2013. Design & Implementation: Community Mobilization and Capacity Building. Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/communitydrivendevelopment/brief/cdd-community-mobilization-capacity-building.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2019. Community-driven development. Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/communitydrivendevelopment#1.Google Scholar
World Bank. N.d. Indigenous knowledge practice details: distribution of food aid in Nepal. Available at https://www.worldbank.org/en/webarchives/archive?url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.worldbank.org%2Farchive%2Fwebsite01219%2FWEB%2F0__CO-27.HTM.Google Scholar