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Summary Of The Singer Solution To World Poverty

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Most people are ignorant to the fact that $200 can help a diseased two year- old become a healthy six year-old in a foreign country. In his article, The Singer Solution to World Poverty, Peter Singer speaks on how everyday Americans can help those in need. This article questions the morality of mankind through the use of several stories. In this article, Singer brings the moral conscious of mankind into question by examining the habits of everyday people; although strong, his stance is flawed. In this article, Singer employs the use of short stories to help him explore the tendencies of mankind, Americans in particular. He opens the article by telling the story of a movie being shown of a retired schoolteacher, Dora, trying to make ends meet. …show more content…

This weakness lies in what Singer failed to mention. There is no doubt that he is correct when he states that American consumers spend money on what they don’t need. He is also accurate when he states that many families have the opportunity to do chartable work but chose not to. For example, he mentions a study done by Peter Ugne. In this research, it was found that $200, is all that is needed to save the life of a sick child in a foreign country. People work hard for their money and it is wrong to tell them they should not enjoy the profits of their hard work. Singers stance would be more appealing if he acknowledged this fact, and spoke of it. Telling people to downsize and live on the bare minimum while giving the rest to charity is unrealistic in this society. If Singer had presented this stance, his argument would be stronger for he would be acknowledging both sides of the situation and seeking a solution that would accommodate everyone. Sending the $200 or supporting an organization are great ways to help but telling people to not to go out and buy a new television set even though they worked for it may not sit well with many. In this article, Peter Singer examines the moral conscious of mankind, especially Americans, by viewing their habits. In order to do so, he employs the use of short stories to illustrate human tendencies. Although solid, his stance is flawed because he does not acknowledge humans right to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Overall, his position is clear and concise, it is the responsibility all humans to help all the less

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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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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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