Global poverty essays

Global poverty essays Extreme global poverty is a problem that affects a large percentage of the worlds population and will continue to spread until serious action is taken against it by the wealthier nations. However, the amount of obligation, if any, that countries feel they have to deal with such a problem is a main source of controversy and one of the reasons why poverty is taking so long to be reduced. This obligation to help others introduces the concept of utilitarianism. In general, this idea requires an individual, or society as a whole, to act in such a way as to promote the maximization of goodness in society that is, the greatest goodness for the greatest number (Pojman 107). Therefore, the person is the focus of happiness. In addition, utilitarianism falls in the category of teleological ethics, which is concerned with the conclusion or the consequences of a particular act, and not the means by which that end result was produced. Using the act of lying as an example, Pojman states, the act that is right produces the best consequences...the only thing wrong with lying for the teleologist is the bad consequences it produces (107). It is not the act itself that makes lying bad to the teleologist, but the end result. Normally, teleological ethics deals with one person, however, utilitarianism is considered to be a universal system applied to everyone. Therefore, the a ct that produces the most amount of good for the (society) is the right act (107). Now that the definition of utilitarianism is established, it can now be applied to the real life situation of global poverty. According to the theory, wealthier countries are obligated to assist in helping to solve this problem, as that would be promoting the maximum amount of goodness for those impoverished societies. However, utilitarianism calls for the maximum amount of goodness for everyone, and as Peter Singer states in his article...