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Singer Solution To Global Poverty Rhetorical Analysis

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The position of Peter Singer on the subject of our moral obligation to aid those in need appears to be unquestionable at first glance; however, with further examination, Singer utilises arguments which, in my opinion, are weak and fundamentally impractical. It should also be noted that Singer himself does not follow his own principles as discussed in “Famine, Affluence and Morality” and his New York Times article, “The Singer Solution to Global Poverty”, contributing to the argument that his principles are impractical. In order to be methodical and fair, I will structure this essay in the following manner: first explaining Singer’s principles, continuing on to explain the points which I find to be lacking in his argument and concluding with …show more content…

One of Singer’s main and most stressed points was that whenever one has extra, luxury, money, they should not spend it on themselves (new clothes, new car, vacation etc.), but should rather give every penny of it away to those less fortunate. “That 's right: I 'm saying that you shouldn 't buy that new car, take that cruise, redecorate the house or get that pricey new suit. After all, a $1,000 suit could save five children 's lives.” (Singer, 1999) I firmly believe that if you work hard for a wage, you are entitled to the right to spend that money on whatever you deem fit, be that donating to famine relief or buying your children new bikes. To state that one does not even have a responsibility to give, but rather a duty to give away their income to the less fortunate is not only offensive to those living in a free world, but is also classist in implying that those who live in the lower class and below the poverty line are not fulfilling their ‘human duties’ in donating by saving what little extra money they have. In “Rethinking Peter Singer: A Christian Critique”, philosopher Anthony Daniels floats the idea that in order for Singer to be true to his own principles, he should withdraw all of his books from the market. For every copy of “Famine, Affluence and Morality” (for example) which is sold, Singer is, by his logic, directly causing the death or misfortune of someone in a dire situation by allowing someone else to use their money on something other than humanitarian

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In a New York Times article, “Too Poor to Make the News,” author Barbara Ehrenreich focuses on the impact the recession has caused to the lives of the working poor. She begins her article by describing how the newly group, known as Nouveau poor, have to give up valuables where as the working poor have to give up housing, food, and prescription medicines. Ehrenreich’s purpose is to inform her readers who are blessed enough not to suffer like the working poor. Barbara Ehrenreich’s article examines the impacts the recession has on the lives of the working poor, by demonstrating pathos, and makes readers aware of the sufferings the poor have to face. Barbara Ehrenreich examines the aspects that are impacting the working poor from the recession.

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Generally, Singer hopes that people should make a plausible budget to donate money to strangers (384). He starts criticizing Americans who waste their money in things that not necessary to them when he said, “The average family in United States spends almost one-third of its income on things that are no more necessary to them than Dora’s new TV was to her” (379). Here, Singer is trying to warn families not to spend money in not necessary things that this money could mean difference between life and death. At this point, the author is very serious about people’s spending, which could save children’s lives. He also gives his reader a story about Bob, who been in a difficult situation that he can save a child’s life, but he could lose his fancy

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By providing a specific number, $200, Singer demonstrates how simple and reasonable it is to save a child in poverty. Additionally, he repeats, “to save a child’s life,” which demonstrates exactly what a $200 donation could do for a child in poverty. As an example, Singer references a credible philosopher, Peter Unger, and acknowledges that “by his calculation, $200 in donations would help a sickly 2-year-old transform into a healthy 6-year-old.” Next, he establishes, “if you were to give up dining out just for one month, you would easily save that amount.” Singer emphasizes this to show the reader how simple it is to save $200, and, more importantly, save the life of a helpless child.

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Peter Singer argues that prosperous people should donate their excess money to the overseas aid groups. When saying this, he believes Americans should stop spending their money on luxuries such as a TV, a computer, a car, and videogames. Instead of spending money on items such as that, he thought we should start sending money to those who are starving in other countries and need our help. There are pros and cons to Singer’s argument and both can be greatly supported.

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Peter Singer himself writes, “We can give to organizations like Unicef or Oxfam America” (Singer, 737). If the wealthy people were to help the poor out, there is no reason to bother in using children of the poor to feed the wealthy. The money that will be provided can go into making shelters in which those children can live happily. There is no reason for those who do not trust organizations, to be selfish. They themselves can create their own organization, give children shelters and their parents a job as well.

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In the article “How I Discovered the Truth about Poverty” Barbara Ehrenreich gives her view in poverty and explains why she think Michael Harington’s book “The Other American” gives a wrong view on poverty. She explained that Harrington believes that the poor thought and felt differently and what divides the poor was their different “culture of poverty.” Ehrenreich goes on to explain on how the book that became a best seller caused so many bad stereotypes on the poor that by the Reagan era poverty was seen as “bad attitudes” and “faulty lifestyles” and not by the lack of jobs or low paying jobs. And they also viewed the poor as “Dissolute, promiscuous, prone to addiction and crime, unable to “defer gratification,” or possibly even set an alarm clock.”

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Singer is no stranger to writing moral arguments, having written many different books and articles in the past on a wide range of ethical debates. “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” originally printed in the New York Times in the fall of 1999 just before Singer began to work at Princeton University, is intended for the common man, a middle-class citizen who makes average wages and reads popular newspapers. As Singer is a professor of ethics, the article is structured around the

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In this paper I will be arguing against Peter Singer’s views on poverty, which he expresses in his paper “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”. Singer argues that all people with wealth surplus to their essential needs are morally obligated to prevent the suffering of those in dire situations. I will argue that you can not hold people morally obligated to prevent the suffering of others, and that people can only be held morally obligated to prevent suffering that they themselves caused. To begin, we will look at Singers beliefs and arguments regarding poverty and the responsibility of people to help those in need. Singer’s first arguments revolves around a girl named Dora, who is a retired schoolteacher, who is barely making a living writing

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