Aid to the Absolutely Poor

Return to Ethics

Do we have an obligation to alleviate the poverty of the absolutely poor? If so, what is the basis of that obligation? What does it commit us to? If not, why not.

• The Singer and Sachs readings in the next week or so will provide some basic arguments to consider and critique.
  • Singer's argument in a nutshell. [1]

• UN Millenium Development Goals (and critics):

• • Facts and figures detailing the success/failures of the UN Millenium Development goals. [2]

• • This is a table provided by the UN which shows development on each of the goals as of 2015. Very helpful for seeing relative progress. [3] -Jordan Thurston

• • An article in US News that summarizes and links to a study that argues that there has been no statistically significant evidence the the progress of the UN Millennium Goals had any real impact on improving the development process [4]

• • The UN Development Goals report discusses what has been successful and what areas need more work in order to achieve the millennium goals [5]

Background Information:

• Graphs and data on world poverty [6]

More on Singer's arguments:

• A critic of Singer's argument on our moral obligation to aiding the absolute poor by John Kekes. [7]
• A critic of Kekes argument by Keith Horton. [8]

• Evidence of effectiveness in anti-poverty programs for absolute poverty.
  • This New York Times article highlights some of the most effective anti-poverty programs globally and how they produce such great results. [9]

• For and Against Giving?

• This article gives some ethical arguments both for and against giving aid. It touches on issues of rights, fairness, justice, and utility. [10]

• This article may be helpful as it gives an overview defining absolute poverty and the goals of fighting poverty through different methods of taxation along with comparing wealth of the richest 1 percent to the people who are in absolute poverty. [11]

• This is pretty long but there are some really constructive ideas proposed as to what America's role in global poverty is. A lot of times with these issues, they are quick to be pointed out but instead, this talks about how to take action. [12]