How Public Goods Can Complement Human Rights in Addressing Inequalities

Abstract

In light of the recent revival of the concept of global public goods in the international policy- making arena with respect to the COVID-19 crisis, this research investigates the potential of the public goods framework to complement the well-established human rights one in understanding and addressing inequalities on a global scale. By reconciling insights from global ethics and political economy, I argue that the public goods framework enhances our comprehension of inequalities relative to three dimensions: exclusion, competition over resources, and provision. These claims are substantiated through the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, demonstrating how the human rights framework remains silent to important determinants of inequalities, which are better explained by the public goods framework.