This is the right time to ask yourself: “What should I be
doing to help?”
For the first time in history, it is
now within our reach to eradicate world poverty and the
suffering it brings. Yet around the world, a billion people
struggle to live each day on less than many of us pay for
bottled water. And though the number of deaths attributable
to poverty worldwide has fallen dramatically in the past
half-century, nearly ten million children still die
unnecessarily each year. The people of the developed world
face a profound choice: If we are not to turn our backs on a
fifth of the world’s population, we must become part of the
solution.
In The Life You Can Save,
philosopher Peter Singer, named one of “The 100 Most
Influential People in the World” by Time magazine,
uses ethical arguments, provocative thought experiments,
illuminating examples, and case studies of charitable giving
to show that our current response to world poverty is not
only insufficient but ethically indefensible.
Singer
contends that we need to change our views of what is
involved in living an ethical life. To help us play our part
in bringing about that change, he offers a seven-point plan
that mixes personal philanthropy (figuring how much to give
and how best to give it), local activism (spreading the word
in your community), and political awareness (contacting your
representatives to ensure that your nation’s foreign aid is
really directed to the world’s poorest people).
In
The Life You Can Save, Singer makes the irrefutable
argument that giving will make a huge difference in the
lives of others, without diminishing the quality of our own.
This book is an urgent call to action and a hopeful primer
on the power of compassion, when mixed with rigorous
investigation and careful reasoning, to lift others out of
despair.
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