Do any needs make claims on anyone? If so, which needs and whose needs can defensibly do this? What are the grounds for our responsibilities to meet others' needs, when we have such responsibilities? The distinguished contributors to this volume consider these questions as they evaluate the moral force of needs. They examine questions of obligation and moral interest from a variety of different theoretical perspectives, using contractarian, Kantian, Aristotelian, rights-based, egalitarian, liberal, and libertarian approaches. Much contemporary discourse about moral and political matters employs the language of needs; Necessary Goods is an important book for philosophers and political theorists tackling the ever-present problem of our responsibilities towards others.