Famine, Affluence, and Morality - We all play a part

Sorry I haven't been writing, folks. I have been dealing with life - not always fun, but always necessary.

I read an interesting article recently in The Believer magazine - it was an interview with Peter Singer, a somewhat radical philosopher who is a proponant of Utilitarian ethics and author of the book Practical Ethics. While I don't agree with all of his views, some make a lot of sense. The article starts out with some of his premises:

• Don't support theather while people don't have drinking water
• Don't eat meat when we can nourish ourselves without it
• Don't drive large cars when they may prevent foreigners from growing food in a stable climate
• Why would you protect embryos but start wars

Utilitarian philosophy is that we should strive in our actions to maximize the amount of happiness in the world. Some of his suggestions are controversial - for example, he believes that sometimes the way to maximize happiness is to allow parents of infants born with severe, life-threatening disabilities the option of euthanization.

But the point that he made which I felt was powerful is that if every citizen of developed nations (and affluent people living in developing nations) were to give just 1 percent of their income to organizations fighting global poverty, we could eliminate the worst poverty. His report, "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" outlines his thinking and states that a wealthy couple spends more money going to the theater than many families make in a year. His credo is that until the poor stop dying because they don't have drinking water, or can't get the most minimal health care or send their children to school, the arts must come second.

All interesting thoughts...I do believe we need to focus more on eliminating poverty, but I would argue in some cases that support for the arts helps the poor be able to participate in creativity, which may help motivate them to achieve and dream, and strive to make their lives better. However, I do think that we could all do more to support the fight against poverty.

In May, my friend Adriana Lopez and I will be launching Microfriend.org - a way for women to microlend to other women in developing countries. Microlending has shown to dramatically affect economies where it is practiced and provides a way to sustain livliehood in impoverished areas.

Will keep you posted....