WEH/Ethox Seminar: A Social Connection Theory of Justice for Global Health Equity

ABSTRACT

How should one respond to gross injustice with no apparent cause? Abundant examples exist of injustice in the arena of global health as anyone can attest who has traveled or watched the news. Sometimes a clear culprit exists, but often we become lost in a maze of associations and cannot satisfactorily pinpoint liability—something is amiss and yet no one seems exceptionally blameworthy. Political theorist Iris Marion Young described a social connection theory of justice that holds to account all who dwell within unjust systems. We will contextualize her theory with examples of global health inequity from Africa and discuss the meaning of individual responsibility for injustice outside the traditional liability model in this setting.

BIO

Noah Rosenberg is emergency physician from the United States who works with underserved patient groups around the world, including crisis response to the Ebola epidemic in 2014 and long-term capacity development in Rwanda. He is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and a former fellow at the Harvard Center for Bioethics. His research interests include structural injustice in global health.