In contrast to a large part of the world's population that suffers from poverty, a considerably smaller part lives in affluence. A politically relevant question is what the social and ecological costs of this gap are. This is not only an issue of domestic, but also of global justice. The umbrella term global justice covers all kinds of issues that are discussed under the headings of social justice and climate justice. Many scholars argue that global justice requires a commitment to human rights. Whether such a commitment is necessary is examined on the basis of the following subjects: poverty, new slavery, climate change and the (im)possibility of green growth. To address these subjects, this series of lectures mobilises the knowledge of very diverse disciplines (anthropology, biology, economics, sociology and political science) and philosophy.

The individual lectures
1. Human Rights and Democracy (12 Jan)
2. Social Justice and the Global Fight Against Poverty (19 Jan)
3. New Slavery: a Barely Thematised Violation of Human Rights (2 Feb)
4. Climate Justice and Ecocide (9 Feb)
5. The End of Capitalism (16 Feb)