Global Poverty David Schweickart Analysis

David Schweickart’s essay Global Poverty: Alternative Perspectives on What We Should Do – and Why begins by employing Charles Beitz observation from “Cosmopolitan and Global Justice” that says how unlikely it is that problems about global justice could be solved, but if so, without concerted international actions and the “emergence of a nascent global capacity to act.” Schweickart also uses a Marxian perspective, which can be interpreted as a form of criticism, to evaluate outlooks on global poverty. Karl Marx refers to the “urgent practical problem” of global poverty that is established as a problem because material conditions exist for destruction. David Schweickart is able to conduct a well-written article providing a juxtaposition of …show more content…
Singer upholds utilitarian principles, believing that it’s our job to prevent bad things from occurring, with the exception of sacrificing something equally important or doing something that could cause more harm. His solution is that people could take a small amount, about one percent, of their income and donate to those in need, eventually offering until the level of marginal utility is reached. Giving would be less damaging to you and more beneficial to those who need it. Schweickart mentions Singer’s other conclusion that the government should be influenced to increase foreign aid, which is said to help the poor and not amuse any “strategic or cultural interests.” Schweickart uses his next section “The Fallacy of Philanthropy” to state a criticism of Singer’s theory. Paul Gomberg observes the persistence of poverty, mentioning how causality needs to be evaluated and understood to ensure that being charitable won’t do more harm than