Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Philosophy

Faculty/School

Faculty of Arts

First Advisor

Ashwani Peetush

Advisor Role

Dissertation Supervisor

Abstract

In this thesis, I argue for a set of basic human rights to constrain the practices of corporate entities in the context of economic globalization. These basic rights are derived through a concrete interpretation of specific articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. My focus is on constructing a middle-ground approach to economic globalization by building on the work of Peter Singer, Onara O’Neill, John Bishop, and Leo Groarke, but with particular emphasis on Groarke’s notion of a mitigated capitalism. The underlying objective of the middle ground is to secure globalization’s benefits and circumvent its harms. As I am concerned with the economic dimension of globalization, and not with its social and political aspects, the set of rights I advance addresses only those variables that are relevant to corporations, since corporations are the vehicles of globalization. As such, the set of rights I derive constitutes a subset of a more general minimal ethics. I claim that this subset of a general minimal ethics adequately captures the salient concerns of the relevant stakeholders, and that it is an ideal way to mitigate globalization. I support my position with two arguments: (i) basic human rights can effectively enable us to meet basic human needs, and (ii) the basic human rights I advance in the subset of a minimal ethics are a more substantive set of rights than property rights.

Convocation Year

2009

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