The Singer Solution

Sure you spend it on the few necessities such as water, food, shelter, clothes, etc. But what do you spend the rest of it on? What if you were to… give it away? According to Peter Singer in “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” those of us who have the extra cash should be giving it up to organizations such as UNICEF or Oxfam America in order to better provide for those who suffer from the lack of basic necessities. There are, of course, two sides to this issue. Pro’s say: “Yeah! Let’s feed the world! Go for it!”; Con’s say: “Our economy is failing as it is!”. Although it is a wonderful idea to sacrifice our luxury for the life of others, the truth of the matter is that the more persuasive argument is that of not sacrificing anything.

Before we can do anything further with this analysis of Singer’s resolution, we must first set limitations. We must first define the words necessity, and luxury. So what is a necessity? Something that keeps you well and alive, right? Anything that would help support your way of life. Like maybe a car. But why a car as a necessity? Well, cars (so long as they are not purchased in excess) help us to get from place to place. They help us to get to work which helps us so that we may continue to support ourselves with the basic needs. There is a fine line between a basic need and just a necessity. Our basic needs are our physical requirements. The things that keep our bodies functioning properly. Necessities are those things that help us to get those things. A car is (possibly, and depending on the person and situation) one of those necessities. So what is a luxury? A luxury is something that you don’t need. Such as a $100,000 car! But not everyone has a car that expensive, so maybe we can apply luxury somewhere else? How about surgical enhancements, or all those movies that you rent. How about all the time and money and effort you put into video games? What about that huge Jacuzzi you recently installed on the oak porch in the back? Do you really need all that? Does it determine life and death? Does it truly determine whether or not your happy? Or should it just be your good health, family, friends, etc that offer that to you?