The Duty of Assistance

The duty of assistance is not open-ended: it aims at a definite goal, namely to help burdened societies develop the political and cultural institutions that will enable them to become well-ordered. Once that goal is achieved, the duty ends. Rawls argues that this targeting distinguishes legitimate assistance from the dependency-creating dynamics of open-ended redistribution.

Rawls argues that the wealth of nations depends far more on their political culture, institutions, and the industriousness of their citizens than on their natural resources. Resource-rich countries are often among the poorest, while resource-poor countries like Japan have achieved prosperity. This supports his view that development assistance should target institutions rather than transfer resources.

Rawls defends a thin but genuine list of human rights — rights that apply across cultures and whose violation justifies international concern or intervention. These are not the full rights of liberal citizens but a minimum: the right to life, liberty from slavery and forced labour, personal property, and formal equality before the law. Their violation makes a society an "outlaw state" excluded from the Society of Peoples.

The duty of assistance is discussed in sections 15–16 of The Law of Peoples. Thomas Pogge's World Poverty and Human Rights (2002) offers a sustained cosmopolitan critique.