The Singer Solution to World Poverty Academic Review Essay Example

A child dies of hunger every 5 seconds. Thousands of people die from starvation each day and millions of people are hungry. In 2010 alone 925 million people went hungry. Today poverty remains one biggest issues the United States faces. Peter Singer specialises in applied ethics and approaches the dilemma of poverty in his New York Times article, The Singer Solution To World Poverty. He affirmatively asserts that individuals should donate money to overseas aid organizations to help the impoverished. But in the utmost respect this seemingly simple and straightforward proposition lays on a controversial topic that questions people’s moral and their own rights. Singer’s acquisition me be very far fetched and unrealistic, but the people in this world should be more aware of poverty and take action and do something about what is happening. “The formula is simple: whatever money you're spending on luxuries, not necessities, should be given away.” This means instead of upgrading your television, you can use the money to save the lives of children in need. Singer brings up the concern that nearly one-third of Americans spend their income of things that they “desire” instead of donating the money to the innocent beings that are dying. Children are exposed to deprivation of food and shelter and others die of lack of medical care. Therefore the moral question is raised: shouldn’t the wealthy ones make an effort to make a difference? Exterminating world poverty has always been a priority. However in spite of numerous efforts to do so, some strategies have not always been the best, even including Peter Singer’s proposition. Like all things, there are flaws and criticism. Americans believed in their unalienable rights: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” They have worked for their money, paid high taxes for the right to live in this country; therefore, they should be entitled the right to do whatever they want with their money. The questions have been raised by