Post-Pandemic Frontiers of Global Justice. A Preliminary Analysis

Abstract

The socio-political effects of the current pandemic crisis tend to reproduce and reinforce inequalities within societies and at the global level. Moreover, the ongoing situation has provided the occasion for increasing awareness on the risks associated with the current ecological crisis. This article presents and discusses the challenges that the pandemic crisis poses to theories of global justice, relying on Martha Nussbaum’s work on the frontiers of justice and expanding its scope to include a fourth frontier. Within the context of growing inequalities in the individuals’ endowment of resources and opportunities and of stricter restrictions on freedoms, a liberal conception of global justice should focus on conceptualizing rights and duties of justice from a multidimensional perspective. The increase in inequalities in a global scenario characterised by vulnerability and interdependence requires comprehensive solutions, both redistributive (towards people and peoples) and regenerative (towards the ecosystem).