Ethics

Inger Peters made a powerful and intelligent argument in 1971 that the affluent people of the world have, in essence, a moral obligation or duty to provide food or money to prevent starvation in India.    That argument is still valid today, nearly forty years, later, because the same problem exists in large pockets of poverty throughout the world as it has since there has been human life on earth.  His assumption that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad is certainly true yet overly simplistic.  

I would ask, rather cynically I admit, Bad for whom   Clearly its bad for those suffering, but is it really bad for you or me or society  Peters does acknowledge the population growth is controlled by starvation argument, but he doesnt even mention the fact that humans are selfish creatures who care mainly for themselves.  Nor does he discuss the fact that humans are also ignorant of world events, and dont seem to care about tragedies occurring anywhere but in their immediate neighborhood.  Sure, it would be terrific if all people throughout the world were highly moral and compassionate beings who truly cared about the health and welfare of their brothers and sisters wherever they may be, but that, my friend, simply isnt realistic.

Peters next argument  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 presumes people are moral by nature.  Im not sure I agree.  I believe people are lazy and compliant by nature, and obey laws, both natural and codified, which create and maintain a moral compass.  If there were no laws or no enforcement of those laws, the survival of the fittest chaos model would prevail, and morality would quickly disappear.  (Please note I am not really this cynical, but I do think Peters was a bit nave when it comes to human nature.  But then, his arguments, it seems, were intended more to drum up famine relief than make a solid, balanced philosophical statement.)