Global Poverty and Kantian Hope

Abstract

Development economists have suggested that the hopes of the poor are a relevant factor in overcoming poverty. I argue that Kant’s approach to hope provides an important complement to the economists’ perspective. A Kantian account of hope emphasizes the need for the rationality of hope and thereby guards against problematic aspects of the economists’ discourse on hope. Section 1 introduces recent work on hope in development economics. Section 2 clarifies Kant’s question “What may I hope?” and presents the outlines of his answer. Crucially, hope is rational if it is rational to trust in the structures of reality on which the realization of one’s hope depends. Section 3 argues that central tenets of Kant’s account of what makes hope rational can be applied to the context of poverty. It becomes apparent that the poor often have good reason to be hopeless since they may not trust fundamental structures that are necessary for realizing their hope. Thus, the insight that the poor need more hope must go hand in hand with a commitment to establishing trustworthy political structures, such that their hope can be rational. Section 4 highlights the relevance of the secular highest good for a better understanding of the justification and scope of our duties to the poor in a Kantian framework.

Uluslararasi Si̇yaset Ve Eti̇k: Küresel Yoksulluk Üzeri̇ne Olumlu, Olumsuz Ve Mütekabi̇l Görevler

“…At this point, hope should be rational. In other words, thrustworthy political structures on which poor people's hope can be actualised needs to be designed; by this way, they will possess a good reason to be hopeful (Blöser, 2022).…”

A Kantian Account of Political Hopes as Fundamental Hopes

“… 13 As noted by Blöser, ‘On Kant’s account, hope is rational if we can trust in the fundamental structures of reality that are necessary for the realization of our hope’ (2022: 14). Without trust in these fundamental structures, victims of injustice often have unwarranted hopes. …”