  The question of maintaining the wealth distribution of a welfare state, then, is one of distributive justice, and does not immediately bear on the issue of whether or not a richer group has the right to secede beyond a more minimal interpretation of the viability proviso. That is to say that the richer group’s right to self-determination is of sufficient weight to justify their secession (given the satisfaction of the requisite conditions), but it does not necessarily outweigh any commitment to satisfying the welfare expectations of those in the remainder state. The claims of distributive justice may well require continued support of the worse-off beyond mere subsistence or viability claims. One difficulty with this response is that it appears unrealistic under current conditions: once a region has achieved full independence, it will have little incentive to continue to share its resources with the remainder state in order to preserve its welfare functions and there is no effective international agency to ensure that it does so.