One World: The Ethics of Globalisation

Overview
Peter Singer argues that moral obligations must be rethought in light of growing global interdependence. He contends that proximity and nationality do not lessen the moral weight of another person's suffering, and that ethical thinking should recognize rights and responsibilities that cross borders. Globalization creates shared fortunes and shared harms, and ethical responses should match that reality.

Central Moral Principle
A guiding idea is that if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening without sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, then we ought to do so. This consequentialist intuition is applied beyond national confines: distance, nationality, and cultural difference are morally irrelevant when assessing duties to help. Singer uses vivid thought experiments and real-world examples to show how familiar moral intuitions imply robust obligations to strangers.

Global Justice and Economic Inequality
Singer examines how market forces, trade policies, and historical patterns of advantage contribute to extreme global inequality. He challenges defenders of the status quo who appeal to national self-interest or cultural autonomy to justify wide disparities in wealth and access to basic goods. Policies that perpetuate poverty are not merely unfortunate side effects but often morally condemnable when alternatives could reduce suffering significantly without comparable sacrifice.

Migration and Borders
Borders, Singer argues, are moral constructs that should not automatically trump human welfare. Restrictive immigration policies often prevent people from escaping dire conditions, and the moral case for open or more porous borders rests on the same principle that grounds obligations to aid distant strangers. He acknowledges practical concerns about integration and resource allocation but maintains that worries about national identity do not justify denying desperate people the chance to improve their lives.

Environment and Future Generations
Global environmental challenges intensify obligations because harms like climate change transcend territorial limits and affect those who cannot yet vote or speak for themselves. Singer emphasizes stewardship of the planet as an ethical duty to contemporaries and to future generations, arguing for responsibility proportional to capacity and contribution to harm. Effective environmental policy requires international cooperation and willingness to accept short-term costs to prevent far greater long-term damage.

Global Institutions and Corporate Responsibility
Reforming international institutions and holding transnational corporations accountable are presented as necessary steps to align global systems with moral demands. Singer advocates for stronger regulation of trade, finance, and corporate behavior to prevent exploitation, environmental degradation, and the erosion of basic human rights. He also supports redistributive mechanisms and fairer global rules to ensure that benefits of globalization are shared more equitably.

Criticisms and Responses
Anticipating objections from nationalism, realism, and some communitarian perspectives, Singer defends cosmopolitan ethics while recognizing practical limits. He engages with concerns about feasibility, political will, and cultural diversity, arguing that moral clarity need not translate into naive policy proposals and that incremental institutional change can make major differences. He admits trade-offs but insists that moral consistency demands taking global obligations seriously.

Practical Implications
The ethical vision calls for increased foreign aid tied to effective poverty reduction, reform of trade and financial systems, more humane immigration policies, and robust climate action. It invites individuals, governments, and corporations to recalibrate priorities in light of shared responsibility. Ultimately, the argument is both normative and pragmatic: globalization makes separation impossible, and moral principles should reflect the interdependence that now shapes human life.