World Hunger

A detailed Summary of World Hunger

Hunger is a very pressing issue and with 24,000 people dying daily it should be. (HS) Unfortunately, it is more than just a moral question of should we help. It is a much more complex question that incorporates political and economic connotations as well. We also have to consider how much to help and at what cost to us? Who do we help? Is it just the starving, or should we help those with substandard living standards as well? What about cases where the people's suffering stems from poor or corrupt governing? At what point if any should we stop helping?

It can be argued that the duty to assist only applies to people of the same community. Different communities share different morals and our duty to aid should be focused inside our own borders. To an extent this is a valid point. Morals vary drastically in different parts of the world. For example, women in the Middle East have very few rights outside the household. Women's servitude is largely accepted as a way of life there. That is not the case here, but because the two communities share different morals we have no obligation to aid these countries and stand up for their women's rights. However, there are other morals that are valued equally regardless

Singer attempts to draw this line and offers a set guidelines as to when we should and shouldn't help. He says; "If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it." (VV p771) This point is argued by Arthur, who says that "singer ignores the part of our common moral code that recognizes rights and deserts as determinants of duty... we have a right to our own lives." (VV p770). Arthur's rebuttal is based largely on rights and while he accepts the principle of Singer's argument he does not accept the argument itself. Arthur also talks about the right we have to keep our own possessions and to make self-progress.

Upon analyzing the problems one will find that different countries have similar problems, but stem from different circumstances. Some countries have an extreme lack of natural resources, political turmoil that causes suffering among the citizens, geographic and environmental problems that cause draughts, and overpopulation. Do we handle these problems on a case-by-case basis, or is there an answer that would work for all of them? I believe the answer is a culmination of both. We need to direct our aid, especially our long-term aid towards the different countries specific problems. But the most common factor that all these countries have is lack of education. Countries with a lack of natural resources can be taught to better utilize the resources that they do have and to trade effectively to get the resources they need. Countries with severe overpopulation can be taught about contraception and government policies that encourage a lower birthrate. The key to controlling birth rate is educating women. If women were better educated they could become more independent and less likely to get married and start having children at a young age. Education should be the primary aid that our long-term strategy revolves around. This is not a new concept. There have been failed attempts to educate large populations of people before. However, with new technologies and educational strategies being conceived everyday we now have a

Some common words found in the essay are:
Blue Shield, Singer Arthur, Middle East, HS Unfortunately, , living standards, communities share morals, lack natural, lack natural resources, set guidelines, substandard living, natural resources, draw line, suggest morally, help starving, people world, countries lack,

Approximate Word count = 1444
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics