The writer behind “Singers Solution to World Poverty” advocates that U.S. citizens give away the majority of their dispensable income in order to end global suffering. Peter Singer makes numerous assumptions within his proposal about world poverty, and they are founded on the principle that Americans spend too much money on items and services that they do not need. Singer uses some extreme methods in order to achieve his goal of getting readers to truly believe in his ideas and change their values and lifestyles. He uses an informal and conversational tone in this article and he demonstrates his views in an emotional manner by giving several illustrations. The author’s main point is that it is morally wrong for affluent people to spend …show more content…
Bob decides to take a walk so he parks his Bugatti by some nearby railroad tracks. In the distance he sees an out of control train flying down the tracks toward a child. Bob has to make a critical decision. He can redirect the train away from the child by flipping a switch, but by doing so his Bugatti will be destroyed in the process. Bob decides not to flip the switch and save his Bugatti. As a consequence of his decision, the child dies. According to Singer, Bob was wrong in choosing his Bugatti over the child, and most people would agree with Singer. Singer feels Bob was wrong for placing the love of a material object over that of the life of a child. The author tries to drive home the point that Bob’s situation is no different from our own. If we were to give up some of our luxuries, we could save the lives of starving children, and by not doing so, we are just as guilty as Bob. Therefore, according to Singer, we are not living up to our moral standards. The problem with this situation is that it is unique. In Bob’s scenario he was the only one who could make a difference, but in reality this is not the case. Bob could have sacrificed his prized Bugatti by throwing the switch, but instead he chose to forfeit a child’s life. To most people what Bob did was wrong. Nevertheless, is what Bob did morally wrong? Lets look at what that car represented to Bob. To Bob that car
In “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Peter Singer advises his pursuers about the deformities in the public eye's endeavor toward world destitution and the issues related with it through outlines using a hypothetical debate to express that people should give the majority of their pointless pay to abroad guide affiliations. Singer utilizes theoretical strategies to accomplish his goal of getting perusers to truly believe his musings and change their qualities and traditions.He uses a frustrated but yet straightforward tone in this article and shows his perspective in an enthusiastic way by giving various hypothetical illustrations. Singers purpose of the story is that it isn't right for individuals to spend their cash on unnecessary things, for example, excursions and eating out when there are kids experiencing hunger all over the world. In spite of the fact that, Singer offers an answer for neediness, his reaction bodes well sensibly however it isn't viable.
In this article, Singer argues that prosperous people should give all money not used on necessities to charity. This bold argument will either persuade or disinterest someone fully. There are many pros and cons of Singer’s argument.
Peter Singer’s argument over the immoral spending of the average American is presented in his piece “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” through two analogies. He compares both situations against each other, as well as to the real life situation of most Americans. His first analogy involves a woman named Dora who delivers a boy for $1000 and then uses said money to purchase a nice TV. However the boy’s life is put in jeopardy and she is compelled to rescue the boy. Singer introduces the idea that she could’ve spent that money on herself in many extravagant ways, and states that many Americans do this already. He addresses that Dora is in fact unlike most Americans in that most Americans do not directly cause the misfortune
In Peter Singer’s essay “The Singer Solution to World Poverty”, published on September 5th, 1999 in The New York Times Magazine, Singer claims that the solution to world poverty is for Americans to donate excess income to aid organizations. His article consists of a gathering of exaggerated situations which he uses to engage readers, while also adequately supporting an argument of moral duty by comparing the hypothetical scenarios to Americans who do not donate. Singer exhibits an appeal to pathos to a substantial amount throughout his article. The provided situations set an outline for the reader to feel certain, appealing emotions.
Most people here in America love to drive nice expensive cars, live in big beautiful homes, and spend their money as they please. In his essay, “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Peter Singer argues that we can save children’s lives by donating to those in need because “so much of our income is spent on things not essential to the preservation of our lives and health” (9). We should refrain from buying anything that is not essential so that we can help hungry children overseas.
Based on Robert McNamara’s description, absolute poverty is the severe deprivation of humans’ basic necessities of life, and is currently one of the leading causes of human misery (Singer, 2010, p.127-128). As citizens of developed nations, Singer believes we
the issue of poverty by suggesting Americans give away most of their income to aid those in need. Singer believes that withholding income is the equivalence of letting a child starve to death. Therefore, Singer suggests the ethical thing to do to end world hunger is to give up everyday luxuries. Although donating a vast amount of money could help dying and starving children, Singer’s proposition is not only unrealistic but also too demanding for everyday Americans who have responsibilities of their own.
In “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Singer argues that all households should donate a percentage of their incomes to charity. Majority of the American population is satisfied with donating little to nothing to those in need, but seldom rethink the purchase of the luxury items. It is a commonly accepted fact that those who work for their earnings are deserving of the monies that they receive. Unfortunately, those in third world countries that don’t have the same resources and opportunities are unable to sustain their livelihood. Some children in third world countries suffer from deprivation of food and shelter; while those that are fortunate enough to have jobs are paid only cents a day. (“Some H-1B Workers Underpaid, Federal
In discussing Singer’s argument, it is important to explain his definition of global poverty. Singer clearly states that extreme poverty is “not only a condition of unsatisfied material needs” but also
According to the United Nations, a child dies of hunger every ten seconds. Likewise, millions of people worldwide live in poverty and do not know when they will eat again. While the typical American throws away leftover food, children are dying across the world from starvation. To put this into perspective: By the time you have started reading, a child has died of hunger. Bioethicist and utilitarian philosopher, Peter Singer, in his argumentative essay, “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” asserts that it is the individual's responsibility to save children in poverty. Singer utilizes many rhetorical strategies-- including appealing to pathos, repetition, and comparison of statistics-- to defend his argument: “Whatever money you’re spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away.” He adopts an analytical and indignant tone in order to convince Americans to donate money to save the lives of millions of children.
In Peter Singer’s article “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Singer suggests that Americans should donate all of the money they are spending on luxuries, not necessities, to the world’s poor. His argument seems simple and straight forward, but there are several unanswered questions. What is the cause of world poverty? What would this do to the American economy?
Specifically, Singer questions why poverty exists when people are so willing to spend their money on expensive items such as clothes. He says people claim they are always willing to save a child, even if it meant their expensive shoes and clothes would become dirty. However, Singer argues they do not consider that the money spent on their clothes could have saved numerous lives if they had donated to a charity. Singer points out the prevalent conflict in society: people are willing to spend their money on expensive shoes and cars but do not think to donate to charities that would help hundreds of people. He argues poverty is a universal issue that could be solved if more people were willing to spend their money on helping others in need. When Singer reveals the hypocrisy of most people regarding spending money, he proves poverty is a widespread problem that must be solved since it affects so many people around the
Peter Singer’s central idea focuses around how grim death and suffering from lack of food, shelter and medical care really is. He further argues that if we can prevent something this unfortunate from happening, without sacrificing anything morally significant, we ought to do it. In other words, as privileged citizens, we ought to prevent all of the death and suffering that we can from lack of food, shelter and medical care from happening by giving our money and resources to charity (Chao, 2016, in-class discussion). In the terms of this argument, death and suffering from poverty are preventable with the
Poverty is a result of absence of basic needs; food, shelter and medical care. If we are in a position to help an individual who is suffering, without sacrificing anything of moral importance we should help the individual. Singer used the child drowning on shallow pond story to illustrate his viewpoint. Many individuals have criticized the simplistic nature of the example and it’s discussed towards the end of the paper.
We all heard countless solutions on how to solve world poverty. In Peter Singer’s article “Rich and Poor”, he discusses how he thinks this problem can be fixed. Singer claims that we all have a responsibility to support people who are in extreme need and are suffering from absolute poverty. Singer believes that poverty could be fixed if people give up their luxuries and give the money that they spent on unnecessary things to those who are destitute. In Singer 's mind, we all have a duty to give until we are no longer able to, or until the problem with the world poverty will be solved. Singer feels that it is necessary for people who are more wealthy to help those who are less fortunate by donating money right away to organizations that help fight poverty. In his opinion, by not helping those in need we are negatively responsible for their suffering and thus failing to live a moral life.