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The Singer Solution And World Poverty

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In “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” Peter Singer argues that Americans are extremely materialistic people. People have the tendency to feel the need to go out and upgrade to the newest clothes or electronics. Even though there is nothing wrong with the possessions that they have now. Specifically, he points out somebody that goes out and buys a new very expensive suit. He suggests that instead of going out and buying that new fancy suit why not donate to relief programs that will help save children’s lives. Singer states that it would only take two hundred dollars to save a child’s life. Singer suggests that instead of spending that thousand dollars on a new fancy suit why not donate it to one of the relief programs? Just in case that is not enough proof that people are very materialistic, Singer gives the example of Bob and his Bugatti on the train tracks. As you read you learn Bob had the option between letting a train kill a small child or crushing Bob’s Bugatti (380). Bob makes the decision to let the train hit the child because he had put too much money into his Bugatti. To Bob the Bugatti was his financial security for when he decided to retire and that is why he let the train hit the small child. And that is what Peter Singer is getting at when he says that American are too caught up about all of the new shiny things that they need to have. Peter also proposes that Americans have the “follow-the-crowd ethics” (382). While he is comparing Americans who are not

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