Peter Singer Poverty

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Peter Singer, Australian philosopher and one of the founders of the modern animal rights movement, wrote an article in 1999 for the New York Times Magazine titled “The Singer Solution to World Poverty.” His proposal to ending world poverty was written to open the minds of people who are ignorant of what is going on in the world regarding the less fortunate. Poverty is a large problem, and people are dying every day because they cannot survive with the small amount of money they have. Singer believes that if everyone donates all income above necessities, poverty would seize to exist. Singer asks the question, “Don’t we run the risk that many will shrug their shoulders and say that morality, so conceived, is fine for saints but not for them? …show more content…

Singer is proposing that middle-class Americans could be donating an outrageous amount of $200,000. Singer specifically states, “It’s almost certainly much, much more than $200. For most middle-class Americans, it could easily be more like $200,000” (935). This, in turn, could cause that family to go into poverty. Personally, Singer’s proposal is a good idea on how to diminish poverty and could work, but how he handles talking about the subject makes people think it is impossible to help others if they have to donate too much. This example, shows us (mostly middle-class people) that it is almost impossible to donate if it is that absurd amount. If Singer is trying to just get people to donate anything, then he should state those words exactly. By calming his tone and making the reader feel as if it is more possible to donate, Singer could make his point sound more realistic and less …show more content…

These statistics add information necessary for the reader to visualize how much money people should or could donate. Singer proposes, “You shouldn’t take that cruise, redecorate the house, or get that pricey new suit. After all, a $1,000 suit could save five children’s lives” (933). This statement, gets people to realize how much he or she could be spending on a more useful cause. Singer’s use of statistics in his article makes it much easier for the reader to know how much money should be donated. One thing he could change would be to add more statistics for different family types and backgrounds. For example, he could state the different amounts families could donate if they have a low income or have many children to care for. Overall, Singer’s article could be more effective if he used more

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