poverty
WHAT IS OUR MORAL OBLIGATION TO THE POOR OF THE WORLD?
Concerns about international humanitarian relief:
CONCERN: What should our moral obligation and attitude be in regards to helping international humanitarian causes?
THEORY: With the help of modern technology, we can visually see on our televisions and computer screens the many facets of poverty and injustice. If we shut our eyes to the ethical obligation, we should no longer ignore its effect on us. Since 9/11, we must realize that security could also depend on our personal involvement in international humanitarian efforts; thus, the moral question has also become a principal of self-interest.
CONCERN: When one speaks about the moral obligation to the international community, the next question is self-evident, how should we approach this issue?
THEORY: In his book, The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty, Peter Singer, one of the most innovative, provocative, and prolific philosophers living today, challenges the moral obligations of citizens of affluent nations to help those living in the poorest countries of the world. He even suggest how much each of us should give by using ethical arguments and case studies of charitable giving to show that our current response is not only insufficient but ethically wrong. Even in the age of economic hardship, we are not exempt from making huge differences in the lives of others and lifting people out of despair. The first approach to the concern would be to challenge people in affluent nations to help those living in the poorest of countries.
CONCERN: Can the concept of “social business enterprise” be a solution to the question of how we approach the moral obligation for humanitarian relief?
THEORY: Nobel Peace Prize winner, Muhammad Yunus, thinks we can revolutionize the world with the concept of “social business enterprise.” He argues that sticking with the same old idea over and over only gets you so far. Yunus first idea started with lending $27 out of his own pocket to empower a poor woman to start a small business. He has transformed thinking in the banking, development, and nonprofit worlds by merging the idea of poverty alleviation and the idea that entrepeneurialism is a solution to how we should approach humanitarian concerns. Duplicates of Yunus’s program have spread to nearly every part of the globe, including Africa, Latin America, even Harlem. Ultimately, the theory is to challenge ourselves to create new ideas when we start talking about how to approach this issue of moral obligation.
“Poverty: Essential Resources from the Carnegie Council”
“Saving the World with a Cup of Yogurt” by Sheridan Prasso, Policy Innovations website
Review of “The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty by Pete Singer”, Times Online review
