Good Essay On Solution To The Worlds Poverty

Solution to the Wolds Poverty

Introduction
As argued by Peter Singer, there are numerous moral and immoral ways of spending money. He maintains that the act of spending money on products or services that do not add value or preserve our lives is immoral. Surprisingly, he considers the decision not to spend money on fancy thing or use the money to save lives as moral. Therefore, he implies that people should act morally by giving their extra money to famine relief and aid agencies. However, the author proposes that people have not fully adopted this culture of acting morally. Therefore, this paper presents observations as well as examples Singer provides in relation to dynamics of giving and non-giving. His argument in favor of the altruistic position will also be examined. In additions, the paper will analyze Singer’s objections and arguments supporting his position. Finally, my argument on whether I agree or disagree with Singer’s proposal will also be outlined.

Examples of the Dynamics of Giving and Non-Giving

Peter Singer presents several examples to illustrate situations where individuals failed to act morally. One such example is in a Brazilian film, The Central Station. The film presents a woman named Dora, a retired schoolteacher. Dora earned her living by writing letters for illiterate people. However, she has a chance to get more that 1000 dollars, as she could earn the money by persuading a boy to agree to the decision of being adopted by wealthy foreigners. Once she got the money, she spends some of on a new television set and enjoys the rest of lavish items and lifestyles. Later, she was informed that the boy was too old to be adopted; therefore, he would be killed and his organs used for organ transplants. Though Dora opted to rescue the boy, Singer observes that her conduct was completely immoral.
Another noteworthy example presented by Peter Singer was in the book of Living High and Letting Die. The book presents a man named Bob. Ideally, Bob was nearing retirement. He had invested all his saving on a modern car known as Bugatti. He expected that because of its raising value, he would sell the car after retirement and enjoy the money throughout his life. One day he packed the vehicle on the side of the railway line. As he walked away, he noticed a train that was coming, and was about to hit a kid. He was unable to alert the kid, but could send a sign to the train. If he alerted the train, it could divert to the direction where he had packed his vehicle, and could easily destroy it. Therefore, Bob chose not to alert the train and the kid was killed. Later, he sold his Bugatti and enjoyed the money the rest of his life. Indeed, this instance also exemplifies an act of immorality.

Singers Argument In Favor Of the Altruistic Position

Singer’s Objections and How He Argues against Them
One of the objections to his view states that if all people from affluent nations contribute a certain share, then, they would avert the need for huge sacrifices, as there would always be funds to cater for the needy children, early enough before such levels are reached. In addition, there would be enough resources to save the lives of children confronted with the problem of hunger and lack of medical care. Another objection to his altruistic argument maintains that governments should also play their part. Even though individuals donate to the poor, the government should also increase its donations to needy overseas nations. Subsequently, the burden of donations would be more equitably distributed.
In his argument to these objections, Singer points out that the question of how much to give is a matter to be decided in the real world. Therefore, he suggests that every individual with excess wealth on top of his or her essential and basic needs should allocate most of it to helping those who are suffering from poverty. Therefore, Singer concludes even though psychologist argue that it is hard for human beings to sacrifice so much for strangers, they might be right in describing the human nature. However, they are wrong in drawing a moral conclusion from this standpoint.

My Argument on Singers Proposal

Conclusion