Essays on Giving

Here are some links to a number of useful essays, books and videos about the nature of our obligations to those living in extreme poverty. In time we hope to add more.

Essays


	Famine, affluence, and morality, by Peter Singer This highly influential essay set in motion a public discussion about our obligations regarding global poverty. Prior to its publication, the issue of global poverty was not much discussed within the field of ethics. Singer changed this by forcefully arguing that donating to stop poverty was not merely a nice thing to do, but was morally urgent and that we all have an obligation to donate a large part of our income. Moreover, he did so without invoking a particular moral theory: he derives the obligation directly from our most basic shared moral beliefs.

Books


	Living high and letting die, by Peter Unger Living high and letting die is an exploration of how far the argument in ‘Famine, affluence and morality’ can be taken. Through a series of contrasting thought experiments, Unger develops a version of the argument that goes further than Singer's in a number of ways, while being even harder to reject.


	World poverty and human rights, by Thomas Pogge World poverty and human rights examines the global injustices behind extreme poverty. Pogge shows how rich countries are not only failing to help the world's poorest people, but are actively contributing to the problem with an unjust set of global institutions. He explains how we none-the-less manage to maintain the illusion that we are doing no wrong, and offers realistic proposals towards fullfilling the demands of global justice.

Video


	Social Experiments to Fight Poverty, by Esther Duflo In this short talk, Duflo gives three examples of how randomised trials can give us excellent information on which aid programs work and which don't, and how this can settle longstanding theoretical debates.


	Ethics and World Poverty, by Peter Singer In a series of three public lectures at the University of Oxford, Singer explains the state of global poverty and his views on what we can and must do about it.


	'Tis the Season to be Giving, by Peter Singer and William Easterly An interesting discussion between Singer and Easterly about effective giving.


	Global Justice, Global Governance, by Thomas Pogge In this lecture, Pogge explains his view that the rich countries are not just failing to aid those living in extreme poverty, but are actually violating their human rights through unjust global institutions.