The idea of the Human Minimum, which served as the inspiration for this book’s main theme, was developed by Henry Odera Oruka. This is the right of every moral agent, which the world owes him or her, to a life with the dignity of a humanhuman being. It is the very minimum a human being demands from the world so that he or she may be in a position to understand and recognize the rights of others. Otherwise, he or she would become morally blameless if he refuses to acknowledge the right of anybody or any nation to anything however legal. The right to a human minimum does by definition impose a duty on every moral agent (no matter from what part of the globe) to help ensure that there are no human beings who lack the means to fulfil this right, it then follows, as Peter Singer has already argued, that those affluent individuals who are able to, but refrain from, helping to alleviate poverty from any region of the world, are partly responsible for the consequences arising from such poverty. The Ethical Human Minimum, according to Oruka, is a universal inclination that mandates that every morally capable individual should support the underprivileged in society as a duty and not a charitable endeavor. In order to live a rational and honorable life as a human being, each person must consequently have the Human Minimum. This chapter aims to demonstrate that the first step in addressing inequality in society is by upholding human rights. The chapter looks at how the principles of human rights, sagacity, justicejustice and Human minimum, relate to one another. The theory of Ethical Minimum upholds human rights and forms the basis of equality in human rights. This chapter probes the questions of ‘why should Rich Nations Help Poor Nations?’ with the hope of answering the question using Henry Odera Oruka ethical theory. The chapter seeks to strike a balance between these two parallel tangents. This chapter argues that although many benefits of globalization are enjoyed by people in wealthy countries, it is impossible to overlook what is happening to people in less developed nations in our more globalized and interconnected world. The impoverished lack access to food, clean water, sanitation, primary education, shelter and other basic necessities that require them to act as moral agentsagents not moral patients. What are the best ways for wealthy countries to assist the poor? is the issue that needs to be asked, not merely ‘Should rich countries aid the poor?’ Beyond aid, we must consider how wealthy nations’ commerce, finances, migration, patterns of consumption, climatic change, state-building, and inequality policies can either advance or obstruct developing countries’ potential.

Oruka’s Concept of the Right to a Human Minimum

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发表日期：

2025年

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Stephen Onyango Ouma

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The idea of the Human Minimum, which served as the inspiration for this book’s main theme, was developed by Henry Odera Oruka. This is the right of every moral agent, which the world owes him or her, to a life with the dignity of a humanhuman being. It is the very minimum a human being demands from the world so that he or she may be in a position to understand and recognize the rights of others. Otherwise, he or she would become morally blameless if he refuses to acknowledge the right of anybody or any nation to anything however legal. The right to a human minimum does by definition impose a duty on every moral agent (no matter from what part of the globe) to help ensure that there are no human beings who lack the means to fulfil this right, it then follows, as Peter Singer has already argued, that those affluent individuals who are able to, but refrain from, helping to alleviate poverty from any region of the world, are partly responsible for the consequences arising from such poverty. The Ethical Human Minimum, according to Oruka, is a universal inclination that mandates that every morally capable individual should support the underprivileged in society as a duty and not a charitable endeavor. In order to live a rational and honorable life as a human being, each person must consequently have the Human Minimum. This chapter aims to demonstrate that the first step in addressing inequality in society is by upholding human rights. The chapter looks at how the principles of human rights, sagacity, justicejustice and Human minimum, relate to one another. The theory of Ethical Minimum upholds human rights and forms the basis of equality in human rights. This chapter probes the questions of ‘why should Rich Nations Help Poor Nations?’ with the hope of answering the question using Henry Odera Oruka ethical theory. The chapter seeks to strike a balance between these two parallel tangents. This chapter argues that although many benefits of globalization are enjoyed by people in wealthy countries, it is impossible to overlook what is happening to people in less developed nations in our more globalized and interconnected world. The impoverished lack access to food, clean water, sanitation, primary education, shelter and other basic necessities that require them to act as moral agentsagents not moral patients. What are the best ways for wealthy countries to assist the poor? is the issue that needs to be asked, not merely ‘Should rich countries aid the poor?’ Beyond aid, we must consider how wealthy nations’ commerce, finances, migration, patterns of consumption, climatic change, state-building, and inequality policies can either advance or obstruct developing countries’ potential.