Whether it was the school I attended, the church I sat in, or the family that raised me, I have grown up with the notion that people should pursue excellence in everything they do and that laziness is no excuse for handouts. I believe that if a man, or woman, works hard in life then they should receive the benefits and profits of their hard work. I also believe that all human beings are created equal; however, that does not mean that all humans are necessarily worth the same. Peter Singer, a famous philanthropist, challenges these viewpoints in his article, What a Billionaire Should Give-and What Should You?. In the article, Singer examines some very interesting and compelling points about what a human life is worth and whether or not the “fair …show more content…
Singer believes that giving your fair share is never enough because you could always give more (650). Singer rationalizes this viewpoint using his already controversial idea of everyone being equal in worth (650). To do this he gives the audience a simple analogy. In his analogy he creates a scene where fifty children have fallen in a pond and are drowning (650). The audience is among forty nine adults that can “easily wade into the pond and rescue the children” (650). However, doing so would cause them various discomforts since they must dive into the cold, muddy water (650). He says that people who believe in the fair share approach, would be completely comfortable saving just one child and leaving all of the other children to be saved by someone else (650). But what happens when a third of the adults don’t want to mess up their new clothes and assume someone else will pick up their slack (650)? The fair share approach would have a third of the children dying a slow death (650). Now, for the people that did their fair share, they would justifiably be furious at those who stood by and did nothing (650). However, they are not justified in their actions by letting the other children die since they could have easily waded out again and saved them (Singer
The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer is a book explaining that our current response to world poverty is not only lacking, but ethically weak. He argues that we need to change our views of what is involved in living a moral life. Throughout the book, Peter proposes ways to save money to donate and then giving it to reliable charities and also, he offers a seven-point plan that mixes personal philanthropy, local activism, and political awareness to help us play our part in bringing about change. In response to this book, some people have taken Singer’s advice and started to follow his plan towards helping end world poverty, while others have criticized him and exclaimed that it is not his place to tell people what to do. I myself agree with
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.
It isn’t about how much you spend. It’s about how hard you work.” There’s been a gradual shift by the wealthy towards incessant working Although the article argues that this merely a ploy by the rich to justify their ungodly bank accounts by “showcasing their superhuman levels of industry”, a less cynical take on the matter might show a more heartening message, one that Calvin Coolidge himself, a century prior, endorsed—that the people in power got there not by means of circumstance or otherworldly talent, but by putting in the hours to make sure that they succeeded. That anyone with the right approach towards life, anyone willing to sacrifice and cry and bleed to improve themselves, could be like them.
In his article, The Singer Solution, Peter Singer argues that citizens of affluent nations are failing to do their moral duty, which is to donate far more to charity than they actually do. The article starts by referring to the Brazilian film Central Station where a miserable retired schoolteacher named Dora is faced with a choice. She could pocket an impressive $1000, but she must first convince a homeless 9 year old to follow her to a certain location where she is told he would be adopted. After spending the $1000 on a new TV, Dora learns that the boy would actually be killed and his organs sold. Dora decides to get the boy back, but what if Dora decided to look the other way after learning of the boy’s fate?
Throughout history, wealth was kept within the family, totally opposite of what we see and expect from most successful business people of today. To bolster the notion that these industrial pioneers were not solely in it for themselves, men like Rockefeller gave millions in charitable donations. Carnegie even wrote a book about how to effectively spread money to the commonwealth as well as teaching the lower classes how to provide for themselves. In fact, Carnegie’s book was given to Bill Gates, a man known for his charitable contributions. As if these Statesmen’s giving nature were not enough, their impact on the world war was extraordinary; without them, America would have been left in the dust.
Money: the root of most social problems and one of the few matters that almost everyone has an opinion on. Peter Singer’s “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” a newspaper article, is no exception. Singer argues that one should donate all unnecessary money to the less fortunate because of the morality of the situation. However, though the goal is noble, his commentary is very ineffective due to its condescending tone, lack of hard facts, and overall extremism. The piece is written by Peter Singer, an Australian professor of bioethics at Princeton University.
One argument that Singer provides in “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” is that individuals who give aid to those in need are probably more well off than those who do not give aid. However, regardless of where one stands financially, aid should still be given by all those who can give. A counter argument that Singer provides is that one might say if one individual gives, they may think that if more people also gave, then they would not have to give as much. A person might find it unfair if they are contributing more to benefit others than what other individuals are giving. In addition to this, one way this could be done would be by adding the “burden” of aiding overseas countries through taxes.
In the article “Created Equal,” Milton Friedman argues that other people have advantages over others and that “life is not fair” but he also explains how we also benefitted from the unfairness we disapprove of. He goes in greater detail how an elite fighter such as Muhammad Ali makes millions of dollars every time he fights and steps into a ring, but people that work “normal” jobs don’t get the same amount of pay. Muhammad Ali trained and practiced his entire life to get to the status he was in, but not everyone can devote or is willing to devote their entire life and time into fighting. Friedman also considered how luck and chance plays a role and the way we make decisions, he said that people with an equal amount of chips can be big winners or big losers depending on the cards that they get by chance and how they decide to play the cards they get. Friedman also argues how people the people that make their own choices run bearing the risk and consequences of their decision.
In one circumstance, we may feel the need to give to those who are poor to keep them from getting in our personal space; and in other circumstances we feel that we give to others out of the kindness of our heart. I completely agree with Ascher and her views on compassion, because I have been in similar situation where I have questioned why people give money, and whether they give with a whole heart or out of necessity. Furthermore, this essay can teach us plenty of lessons that can be utilized throughout our lives so we can teach others and make them aware of the need to be more
Due to this reason, Singer states that the fair donation argument fails and would not be enough to fix the problem. Now that we have an understanding of Singer’s beliefs, I can show how Singer would respond to the question given in the prompt. Peter would say that yes he should donate, but the small amounts he would be choosing to donate would be nowhere near the amount that he should be choosing to give. Singer would say that any money that he isn’t spending on necessities should be donated to help those in dire situations, and that not doing so is
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
Alessandra Stanley, author of “Silicon Valley largesse overlooks income inequality; The entrepreneur/philanthropists of the San Francisco-area tech industry are as conservative as benefactors of the past,” would agree with Hazlitt’s point that forced redistribution of taxes is not the answer. Stanley feels that income inequality and poverty is an engineering issue and not a tithe. Stanley solution is focus money elsewhere, like education, instead of forcing redistribution. Stanley argues that taking from the rich would do more harm than good because they make these big foundations and donate to people in need of
Heidi De La Paz Professor Kaluzhski English 120 September 7, 2016 In the essay “ Show Me The Money”; Walter Mosley informs his readers about the uneven distribution of wealth in America and the discrimination that the working class has to face everyday. He states that it is wrong to look down on people and place judgment on them because of the amount of education and wealth they might have. Mosley goes on to tell us that we all deserve to live comfortable lives regardless of our social or economic class. In conclusion Mosley states that wealth should not define who we are and that we should all be treated equal that way we can all have equal opportunities to try to make it in this world.
So it appears that utilizing moral arguments, provocative thought investigations, lighting up cases, and contextual analyses of magnanimous giving; author demonstrates that our present reaction to world poverty is deficient as well as ethically faulty. Singer battles that we have to change our perspectives of what is included in carrying on with a moral life. To help us have
Singer attempts to close this gap with the age old question of ‘why don’t we give the riches’ money to the poor’. The essence of Singer’s argument is obviously end world poverty. Probably the strongest point made in Singer’s argument is the involvement of the whole world. By taking this money from those across the world eliminates the opportunity for indifference. To stand with indifference is to stand with the oppressor.