Famine, Affluence, Morality

Peter Singer's principle goal of "Famine, Affluence and Morality" is to get members of society to alter their contemporary conceptions of morality. His primary means of achieving this goal is to get people to rethink the notion of giving charity to those in need. He utilizes the 1971 destitution of people in Bengal as a case study in which he urges the affluent to change their view of morality so that they donate money and time to help the indigent. The author's assumption is that by getting people to understand the moral obligation in helping those in need, such as those in Bengali who have been ravaged by "Constant poverty, a cyclone, and civil war" (Singer, 1971, p.229), he will effectively change the way people consider moral situations. This change in their thinking will then influence their propensity for aiding other people in other situations outside of...
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