Just finished reading One World by Peter Singer. The book argues for the benefits of embracing the idea of Globalization in a more meaningful way than we already do. We are increasingly aware of the actions other nations take be they environmental, economical, or humanitarian. The effects reach cross borders and oceans and cultures. Singer takes on these issues concisely and tackles the common ethical rebukes of globalization. Of the 4 chapters, the 3rd and 4th resonate with me in that they directly deal with humanitarian issues. Questions like interfering with other nations for humanitarian reasons and are we participating in moral imperialism? How can we go about it? Has it been tried before? But the last chapter is about international obligations to charity versus nationalism. This sentence struck me enough to warrant this update:
“Among the developed nations of the world, ranked according to the proportion of their Gross National Product that they give as development aid, the United States comes absolutely, indisputably, last.”
This highlights the disparity between our impulse to “take care of our own” as opposed to assisting the dangerously impoverished people in less financially developed nations. We were throwing money at people who are victims of 9/11 or hurricanes here, but thousands of children die every year of starvation. This has gotten me thinking…
The Riot Act 