Subsistence Needs and Individual Duties

Abstract

Various human rights documents list the human right to an adequate standard of living. While the content of the duties of States and non-State actors are being made increasingly clear, the duties we have as individuals with regard to this human right are left nearly completely undefined. This article therefore wishes to clarify, firstly which duties towards the global poor we have as individuals and, secondly, what the status of these duties is. I will argue that nearly all our duties that stem from global subsistence needs are at present duties of virtue. I will arrive at this conclusion in two steps. Section I will aim to provide an exhaustive overview of our individual duties related to global subsistence needs. Next, Section II will need to ascertain the status of each of these duties. Accordingly, it will first have to offer definitions of the distinction between perfect and imperfect duties, and of the difference between duties of justice and duties of virtue. Subsequently, these definitions will be applied to the duties presented in Section I. Finally, I will conclude with a brief reflection on the significance of virtue as a necessary complement to justice.