Sing on Mr. Singer

In his article "The Singer Solution to Poverty," Peter Singer argues that people in more developed countries economically, America in particular, spend too much money on luxuries and could save lives around the world by donating money to charity. He bases his argument on two hypothetical analogies, one involving a man's decision to save his million dollar car instead of an unknown child from a train. After this anecdote he says that we too have the opportunity to save the lives of children if we would donate to charities.

Singer bases his arguments on many challengeable assumptions. One of these assumptions is that money spent on luxuries, like televisions, just appears out of nowhere and disappears into the ether once spent. This, of course, is not true. If all well-to-do people were to donate any extra money they had to charity organizations, and not even be able to see the result of their effort, the urge to work hard would disappear. In a sense Singer is suggesting that the whole world convert to a socialist economy, and we all know how well that worked in Russia.

The other analogy Singer uses is the story of a Dora from Brazil who has the opportunity to get $1,000 for bringing a homeless boy to a certain person who says the boy will be adopted by a wealthy family. After getting the money for this the lady buys a new TV, but later finds out the boy will probably be killed, and his organs used for transplants. Dora decides that she has to get the boy back, and does.

Some interesting things came to mind when reading this story; first, what would be better, to save the one suffering, hungry homeless boy, or the many that could be saved with his organs. This sounds cruel and inhumane, and most of us would agree that we have to save the one that we can, but it is something to think about. Most people don't run into the conflict of selling a human life, which Singer most likely realizes, and I think that Singer isn't really concerned about whether we own a TV or not, but whether we are generous and looking to help others. However, I did have to question his judgment when I read the following:

"In the end, what is the ethical distinction between a Brazilian who sells a homeless child to organ peddlers and an American who already has a TV and upgrades to a better one Ð'-- knowing that the money could be donated to an organization that would use it to save the lives