Passage: Global distributive justice often pits 'cosmopolitanism' against 'statism.' Cosmopolitans argue that our moral obligations to others do not stop at national borders; because the global economic system is deeply integrated, we have a duty to ensure that justice is achieved on a global scale. In their view, being born in a rich country rather than a poor one is a 'natural lottery' that should not determine one's life prospects. Statists, conversely, argue that justice is a duty we owe only to those with whom we share a social contract and a state. They contend that the unique coercive power of the state creates a special relationship among citizens that does not exist between strangers on opposite sides of the world.