Thousands of people die every day from poverty related causes. The majority of these cases could be avoided by providing increased access to food, water, shelter, or medical care to those in desperate need. Basic human necessities are not luxurious by any means, but the sad fact of the matter is that despite the decrease of global poverty throughout the 20th century, millions of people across the world continue to be deprived of them on a daily basis. While there is near-universal agreement that extreme poverty is abhorrent, vast disagreements exist as to how to best address this issue. For example, to what extent are individuals and/or states morally obligated to contribute to the fight against poverty? In the following essay I will analyze
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However, I will argue that ‘non-idealists’ are overly critical in their assessment of the flaws of the ideal tradition. Every thinker or policy maker has to work with a certain amount of presuppositions or an intellectual debate is simply not possible. Additionally, proponents of the non-ideal tradition do not sufficiently acknowledge that what is ‘feasible’ is contextual. What is possible can and does shift over time. It would be one thing if ideal theorists, such as Singer, posited grandiose ideas without also providing more practical suggestions. If that were the case then I would agree with the criticisms of the non-idealists that it is not practical to always be reflecting on utopian fantasies. Yet it is fallacious to say that we cannot be both ideal and practical at the same time. It is possible to be practical without reducing our conceptions of what is …show more content…
Singer, who is a strong advocate for utilitarian ethics, has ruffled more than a few feathers by frequently posing bold challenges to our moral paradigms. This is perhaps most apparent in his essay from 1972 entitled Famine, Affluence, and Morality, in which he takes both individuals and states to task for what he perceives as their lack of moral fortitude in fighting against global poverty. Singer was writing amidst the crisis in Bengal but is concerned by what he sees as paltry responses to global poverty in
However, I will argue that ‘non-idealists’ are overly critical in their assessment of the flaws of the ideal tradition. Every thinker or policy maker has to work with a certain amount of presuppositions or an intellectual debate is simply not possible. Additionally, proponents of the non-ideal tradition do not sufficiently acknowledge that what is ‘feasible’ is contextual. What is possible can and does shift over time. It would be one thing if ideal theorists, such as Singer, posited grandiose ideas without also providing more practical suggestions. If that were the case then I would agree with the criticisms of the non-idealists that it is not practical to always be reflecting on utopian fantasies. Yet it is fallacious to say that we cannot be both ideal and practical at the same time. It is possible to be practical without reducing our conceptions of what is …show more content…
Singer, who is a strong advocate for utilitarian ethics, has ruffled more than a few feathers by frequently posing bold challenges to our moral paradigms. This is perhaps most apparent in his essay from 1972 entitled Famine, Affluence, and Morality, in which he takes both individuals and states to task for what he perceives as their lack of moral fortitude in fighting against global poverty. Singer was writing amidst the crisis in Bengal but is concerned by what he sees as paltry responses to global poverty in