In the article Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Peter Singer does not agree with the premise that the state should take full responsibility for implementing charity and remove it from the members of society. First of all, Singer rightly points out that the state participates in international charitable projects because it receives a request from a community that deems helping those in need moral. If the people in the society stop donating money overseas, the state would perceive this issue as uninteresting and not disturbing the public. Consequentially, the practice of foreign donations may soon cease in the absence of its constant support.
Secondly, Singer’s previous reasoning is based on the idea that donating money to charity for the countries of the 1st world is not a moral act but rather a neutral act. Thus, each person can and should be aware of the moral need to give as much as possible until they “had to sacrifice something morally significant” (Singer, 1972, p. 241). The important factor is that private charity is more sustainable for many people and allows them to develop a sense of moral duty. Stinger supposes that a lack of ethical behavior and the virtues of helping others can lead to adverse outcomes for society.
Thirdly, the author notes that there is no need to choose between government aid and private charity initiative. For example, it would be unreasonable to raise five pounds from every member of society, including poor or disabled people in the country. At the same time, some people can give thousands and tens of thousands of times more to charity and not become impoverished. In addition, sometimes, it is easier to encourage people to donate individually, appealing to the emotional side (Lindauer et al., 2020). Both of these options can and should be successfully combined, especially considering the massive difference in income between people.
References
Lindauer, M., Mayorga, M., Greene, J. D., Slovic, P., Västfjäll, D., & Singer, P. (2020). Comparing the effect of rational and emotional appeals on donation behavior. Judgment and Decision Making, 15(3), pp. 413-420. Web.
Singer, P. (1972). Famine, Affluence, and Morality. Philosophy and Public Affairs, 1(3), pp. 229-243.