Famine, Affluence, And Morality - 1991 Words

Wojtek Sokà ³Ã…‚ Phi 115-002 Ethics – Final Paper Famine, Affluence, and Morality Peter Singer Jimmy carter once said, We know that a peaceful world cannot long exist, one-third rich and two-thirds hungry. With the world now more interconnected than ever there might be a solution to world hunger by distribution of wealth. Peter Singer, in his article titled, Famine, Affluence, and Morality, takes this concept of unity that we have on a global scale and tries to tackle the issue of world hunger. Before we dive into the article we will focus on utilitarianism to help us understand his perspective better. Following, we will analyze Singer and his theory, by strongly arguing that famine should be given moral worth. A stance is made that if you are aware of suffering that is going on elsewhere than it is your responsibility to do something about it. He points out that it doesn’t matter if anyone else is helping nor does it matter the distance. Singer does make some good points, however, these do not come without objections. Let’s start by gaining an understanding of what utilitarianism means. The definition given to us earlier in our textbook, Exploring Ethics, in the article, Strengths and Weaknesses of Utilitarianism, it defines act utilities as an act that, â€Å"is right if and only if it results in as much good as any available alternative†. This goes back to the tedious task of trying to analyze countless number of alternatives and figure out which one brings about the mostShow MoreRelatedFamine Affluence And Morality1963 Words   |  8 PagesIn â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality,† Peter Singer emphasizes the potential revisionary implications of accepting utilitarianism as a guide for conduct. The moral philosophy Singer conveys in this text are most closely related and comparable to the ideas of nineteenth-century English philosopher, John Stuart Mill as Singers’ approach is utilitarian rather than deontological. Despite their similarities, the ideas of Singer and J.S Mill contain many discrepancies, especiall y with regard to whether theyRead MoreFamine, Affluence and Morality1663 Words   |  7 PagesSinger’s Famine, Affluence, and Morality Ametra Heard PHI208 Ethics and Moral Reasoning Instructor Zummuna Davis January 14, 2013 Singer’s Famine, Affluence, and Morality In the Peter Singer’s article â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality†, he discusses the way that people should take moral in their help toward the support of the Bengal famine crisis. Singer states three obligations that would help the Bengal region through the means of a wealthy person, and those individuals living life on a dayRead MoreFamine, Affluence, And Morality1555 Words   |  7 Pagesbetween numerous countries across the world, and enables people living in developed countries to help those who are experiencing famine, deaths and diseases in poor countries. However, the moral necessity of doing so has been controversial in human’s society for years. One philosopher named Peter Singer gives his opinion in the article â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality†, and presents a powerful argument supporting his claim. In this essay, I will explain his conclusion and main argument, propose oneRead MoreFamine, Affluence, And Morality906 Words   |  4 Pa gesWithin â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality† Peter Singer delves into the topic of famine; specifically, the moral obligations individuals in affluent countries have to those who are suffering. In his example, Singer focuses on the population of East Bengal, and their struggle with famine and extreme poverty. Singer proposes that with enough aid from both individuals and various governments extreme poverty can be eradicated. Therefore, the question he presents is why poor people are dying while affluentRead MoreFamine, Affluence, and Morality Essay892 Words   |  4 PagesIn the article by Singer, P. (1972) â€Å"Famine, affluence, and morality† main argument is that to persuade his readers in what people of wealth and governments should help with famine relief, especially in East Bengal as one example given. Singer is furthermore also mention somewhat of and utilitarianism. Therefore, according to Mosser, K. (2010) â€Å"A concise introduction to philosophyâ₠¬  states that the â€Å"act utilitarianism applies the idea of utilitarianism to specific acts, emphasizing what moral isRead More Famine, Affluence, and Morality Essay2027 Words   |  9 Pagesâ€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality,† Peter Singer is trying to argue that â€Å"the way people in relatively affluent countries react to a situation†¦ cannot be justified; indeed,†¦ our moral conceptual scheme needs to be altered and with it, the way of life that has come to be taken for granted in our society†(Singer 230). Peter Singer provides striking examples to show the reader how realistic his arguments are. In this paper, I will briefly give a summary ofRead MoreFamine, Affluence and Morality by Peter Singers929 Words   |  4 Pages In this essay I will be arguing why a utilitarian could possibly disagree with Peter Singers Argument presented in â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality.† After reading such an interesting paper I must say as much as I disagreed with Singers viewpoints I almost found it difficult to object them with support. From a utilitarian point of view we are to maximize Happiness by reducing suffering. How can Giving possible make someone unhappy? But as I was thinking a saying came across my mind, â€Å"Two steps forwardRead MoreFamine, Affluence, and Morality Essay1371 Words   |  6 PagesFamine, Affluence, and Morality Websters English Dictionary defines morality as: the conformity to ideals of right human conduct. With this in mind, I wonder who determines right human conduct? Religion aside, there is no literary context that strictly states the rights and wrongs of human behavior. So who decides? Who determines what we ought morally to do and what we are obligated to do as a society? An Australian philosopher, Peter Singer attempts to draw the line between obligationRead MoreFamine, Affluence and Morality by Pete Singer1045 Words   |  4 PagesIn the article, â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality†, Pete Singer, a Utilitarian, argues that citizens in affluent countries such as the United States have a moral obligation to give up as much as they can for famine relief. Singer’s contention in his article is that the way we morally conduct ourselves ought to be reappraised. (Singer, 230). I Singer’s argument, and in this paper, I will examine the distinction between duty a nd charity, compare both deontological and consequential theories of ethicsRead MoreFamine, Affluence and Morality by Peter Singer1486 Words   |  6 PagesIn his own essay â€Å"Famine, Affluence and Morality†, Peter Singer puts forth some compelling arguments for affluent people to give what they have in excess, to the suffering people of the world. Before any criticism is made, here is the argument: - There are people suffering and dying from lack of food, shelter and medical care. - People suffering and dying from lack of food, shelter and medical care is bad. - If you have the power to prevent something bad from happening without sacrificing †¨anything

Investment Culture In Mauritius And Around The Globe Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2202 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Case study Did you like this example? This study seeks to understand the Concept of investment culture around the globe and the attitude of Mauritians to investment. It aims to gain knowledge about key factors that influence investment behavior and thus trying to bring an insight and educate the population on the factors that need to be considered when selecting an investment portfolio. The focus will be based mostly on the Study of the Mauritian Population as a whole consisting of at minimum one income-earning member. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Investment Culture In Mauritius And Around The Globe Finance Essay" essay for you Create order It is by using different age groups along with Gender and demographic factors that synergism between investors can be reached. On the basis of segmentation we will carry out surveys. We planned for a minimum sample of around 2000 individuals would be selected for the study. Questionnaires would be distributed amongst various groups of people, depending on their Age, Gender and social status (targeting factors), dwelling in both rural and urban regions. The data collected would be assess and analyze using percentage, statistical methods and correlation to test the hypothesis. Thus keeping this in mind, that our aim is to explore the concept of investment culture, the study should have a degree of variation enough to avoid bias in our outcomes. Along with surveys and questionnaires, tools to collect data can include documentation review, observation, and even the collection of physical artifacts. Talking about outcomes, what we expecting from this analysis is to conclude wheth er: Mauritians are well aware of investment decisions and factors affecting these decisions; the level of investment undertaken by Mauritian is directly influenced by their Income level, Gender, Demographic factors as such; they are conscious of the importance of investment and there is enough incentives to prone Mauritians towards investment, compared to the Investment culture around the Globe? The point is how will these outcomes help and to whom would it be beneficial? We believe that this groundwork would help the Government and Investment Institutions in particular. Lets assume that the results show that Mauritians, if their income rises will tend to interest more in investment thus the government can establish necessary incentives in a view to encourage investment by minimizing savings. Eventually, Investment bodies can also develop investment schemes that would attract investors. Introduction InvestmentÂÂ  is putting money into something with the expectation of profit. We often consider investment as deferred consumption meaning income earned but not consumed and kept for future consumption. Globally we can note that for the last decade people had been more open to investing their money in financial institutions compared to earlier whereby they use to go more towards consumption. Global economic growth has increased and thus standard of living which all together can be attributed to the fact that investment level has risen. Economist however, has argued that it is not possible to set out for investment without first considering savings. It should be acknowledged that without savings there can not be investment. This is because when an entrepreneur starts business, he is actually using other peoples savings. Therefore, savings is essential for investment. While saving is viewed as forgone consumption, investment is limited to real investments that give rise to th e national output in future. Investment has two major attributes: Risk and Time. As such, we have investment Financial investment and Real Investment. The latter, is money invested in tangible and productive assets such as machineries, land or factories. Real asset what constitutes of real investment that determines the productive capacity of any economy. Financial investment is the investment of funds/capital into financial instruments, such as bonds, equities and securities. These financial assets are purchased with a view for future cash flows and may increase or fall in value in regards to capital gains or losses to investors. Mauritians do to some extent carry out financial investment, just to mention suppose an individual buys stocks of the State Bank of Mauritius or the Barclays Bank PLC which is a sort of financial investment in those particular companies, and hence, with the return expected the individual can invest in real assets like buying lands or buildings. So we can d educe that individuals have choice of consuming today or investing their wealth today for future consumption. Talking about investment decisions, Behavioral finance is an integral part as it lays emphasis on irrational behaviour of investors. Behavioural finance depicts individual investors as unrational investors who are faced to cognitive psychological biases, who often portrayed risk seeking behaviour and their expectations are biased. Different investors have different investment objectives as such the selection of investment alternative for the investor should be considered first to know what are the objectives of investors. Objectives of investors ( vary across individuals) could be: Risks, Return and safety Current income v/s capital appreciation Capital preservation Ease of management Liquidity consideration Tax factors On a global perspective, it has been notice that investment by individuals much rely on trust which is one side of culture. The d egrees of trust vary from one country to another; China, Norway, Finland, Sweden as such tend to have a high level of trust in doing business and investment. Conversely, we note rather low levels of trusts in France and Italy and much lower in Mexico and West Indies. This throws up questions like does cultural background affects financial attitudes? In Japan for instance one need billions to enter the financial market, one reason why it is the last option for investors. Zimbabwe has a relatively high inflation rate thus the government encourage its people to invest in market securities rather than saving their money. They are being prone to start up their own business by being provided with resources. Taking the example of China and the United States, the difference in their investment cultures lies in the collectivism of Chinese culture as opposed to the self-centred behaviour of American culture. In China indifferent to the highly risky assets and the high probability of low re turn, there is still a guarantee of family or friends support even in case of bankruptcy. The Americans on the contrary they do not benefit from the same support. This is the cultural safety net that we trying to pictured and how it differs across countries and cultures. Facts from the Central Bank of Mauritius, the Ministry of Finance and other Financial Institution made a report stating that in Mauritius investment is regarded in a different angle, where the desirable investment is 95.9% towards banking savings and deposits while 7.14% have invested in SIT and the stock market. 10 % expressed hesitation to invest in risky sectors and the rest were reluctant and showed confidence in the banking system for safety reasons. The main reason why there is little investment by Mauritian is: the lack of adequate information, no proper financial education, income tax reasons, unprepared for downturns and the saving rate and the agreement (too bulky to read that discourages investment ). Mauritians are a bit reluctant to invest in the stock exchange, they are risk averse. They rather seek for secure returns. In Mauritius much investment are made my foreigners (FDI). The belief is that in Mauritius the incentives to invest is here but the people are well unaware of the available investment opportunities. Recently, the Mauritian Government has decrease the Repo Rate aiming at discouraging people to save and hence divert their money towards investment. The Research Problem Statement Poor level of investment on behalf of Mauritians may translate to low national productivity and also to a slackening in the standard of living of local people unlike in European Countries and China. The Government should be focusing how to reassure its population to accept the culture of investing along with saving. That is creating an investment environment that provides both for a variety of saving and investment opportunities. As noted, recently the Government has increase the Repo rate to 5.25% in a view to encourage people to invest more and save less. It is a major problem as Mauritians are not aware of investment prospects and how to start out investing. Disregarding of the level of income of any individual, it should be able to save and invest a portion of its income for future consumption. This reluctant behaviour of people might be responsible for the lack of development and goals achievement for both local people and the society. The research is based mainly on findin g out the investment culture of Mauritians with a view to find out the factors casting doubt on the right attitude to investment. The problem is also that people do not have a clear idea about factors that need to be considered when taking up an investment decision. They are confuse like to invest in which asset, which one would bring more returns, which one is riskier or which one have the higher yield to maturity? So the mandate is to how to bring to the population the right information and tactics of wise investment. It would be of no harm if along with Foreign Investors ( FDI) local people would participate in the investment portfolio for a better development. Indeed, there is a misconception towards investment amongst Mauritians but its time that things need to be changed and people are made more prone to investment. We need to study their investment behavior. Aims and Objectives of the study: Investigating on the actual perception of the people to investment and the future outcomes of investing part of their income would bring light to areas such as: determine if people believe in investment, is there an investment culture, if so to what extent; find out what percentage of the income is allocated to investment; if they invest, what do they aim at, reasons for investment; what type of market or investment instruments attracts Mauritians and why; investigating on the fundamental basis of the reliability of the decisions taken by the people. Methodology In order to reach the goal of our study two types of empirical researches would need to be conducted: Quantitative Questionnaires and Face-to-face interviews (see in appendix). Interviewers would be employed to carry out the Interviews and analysts to interpret and examine the data and information collected. The population targeted for this study consisted of all Mauritians made up of a minimum one income earning member indifferent of their income. A random sample of 2000 people would be selected for the study. Its surely does not represent the whole population but at least it would define to some extent our aim as the selection would be from a broad range of people from all around the island. The questionnaire would be anonymous and confidential with minimal personal questions for reliability reasons. Prominent questions would be income level, age, education level to mention a few. Using questionnaire as data collection instrument primary data would be collected. It would be di vided into 4 categories: background information; employment and income; investment culture/ attitude to investment and awareness of government incentives and investment prospects. One should be aware that the results from the questionnaires are not 100% reliable but they do project to some extent the trends that the study is aim at. To complement the questionnaire and make the research more accurate deep interviews would be carried out. That is a random of 300-500 people would be interviewed face-to-face. The people would be selected as far as possible from different background and age groups spread over different regions both rural and urban. Then combining all the results and responses they would be analysed using percentages and weighted mean while statistics would be employed to validate the hypotheses. Benefits of the research study The research will give much better understanding of consumer behaviour regarding investment decisions, overview of the steps consumers go through before making the actual investment, and to what extent they have adopted investment culture. The research will show the main motive to investment and the factors that restrain investment also. The study will show whether adequate information are available to investors before they deciding upon investment decisions. The analysis would be equally beneficial to the Government as well as the investors. The Research will justify whether or not the main issues why Mauritians decides not to invest is hardly attainable or understandable information. Budget Analysis A budget analysis is a detailed financial plan for the future whereby all the expected expenditures are allocated a certain amount. It is always favorable to carry out your research work in the minimal possible costs. Budget analysis will allow a good planning of how to use our available resources in carrying out the research study. Plans cannot be ignored once in place. There is a need to check regularly that the objectives are still within reach. As far as possible the expenses should be within the budgeted amount to avoid significant deviation in budgeted and actual expenditure costs. Below are the budgeted expenses, estimated on a monthly basis that would be encountered during the research and surveys: Expenditures Equivalent Costs Operating costs: Travelling Variable costs: Materials/ stationeries Printing Purchase research Papers Telephone Bills Fixed cost: Rent / Electricity Salaries: 4 interviewers 2 Analysts Miscellaneous costs TOTAL: Rs 500.00 1,000.00 2,000.00 1,500.00 2,500.00 7,500.00 20,000.00 25,000.00 500.00 60,500.00 Note: These expenses are approximate and can be less or more subject to changes as we proceed with the survey. But they should be within the range as forecasted and budgeted.

Descriptive Essay - Original Writing - 1510 Words

Without another moment of thought, I decided to pop one of the pure pills into my mouth and down the thing with a swig of rum. I could taste the white tablets gruesome effects on the tip of my tongue. The sensation was almost like dancing, I was happy, and the thought of everyone else disappeared from my mind. My mind clouded over after I started blaring music to compete with the jitters I needed to let out. The song that came on didn’t matter, because I was lost in the music of my own heartbeat. Rhythm got faster, the bass pounded, and something else in the background was banging too. Maybe it was the door, but I didn’t care. That’s when I saw the door open. I swore I locked it, I shrugged it off anyways. The person who came in had†¦show more content†¦There was a clear white building ahead, a huge cross planted on the front. A person dragged me out, holding me close to their tanned neckline without defiance. After I was put onto a comfortable bed and s ped off, I lost track. My eyes closed. Clearly, at the edge of my bed, a blonde and brunette were arguing. My eyes focused, and I saw Marco Bodt and Reiner Braun before me. â€Å"What did you give to him?!† â€Å"I already told you! I didn’t give him anything! I haven’t even seen him since I gave him the key to his apartment!† Marco choked down tears, â€Å"Then tell me, how exactly did Jean get those drugs! They were from you! I checked over the tablets, marked obviously with your signature!† Every time he says my name, my heart begins to burst. It’s in the way he says is, pronouncing the noun with a French accent the way it should be, his tongue licking his bottom lip after he says my name. â€Å"I don’t know, Marco! I’ve only sold to that blonde recently, the one you said that was his friend.† â€Å"Armin, you mean? There’s no way he could’ve come over and given Jean anything, I know no one has come ove r†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Who s to say he didn’t leave the house?† â€Å"No, no, Jean would never willingly go to get some drugs. That’s not him.† â€Å"Marco,† Reiner put a hand on Bodt’s shoulder, â€Å"You told me how he was acting the past couple of days, sweetheart I’m sorry, but he really might have.† â€Å"No!† I shook under the intense sound of Marco’s voice breaking, â€Å"You don’t even know him, Reiner! He’s

Agricultural Subsidies and Development free essay sample

Agricultural Subsidies and Development In recent decades, rich countries and organizations have taken measures to preserve their agro industry. In many of the largest countries as a measure to stimulate the production, subsidy is made for the proceedings or part of the necessary crops. Nowadays we are faced in a big question: What is the impact of these subsidies on world market prices and the producers do not receive subsidies for their production? There are many opinions from different parts of the world and it is like that because each country has its own point of view and depends how much are they involved in the situation. I will try to distinguish myself and to be objective. I think that if the subsidies were removed overnight the impact on the average consumer and producer will be very bad. Family farmers will be driven into bankruptcy and this will lead to production falls. We will write a custom essay sample on Agricultural Subsidies and Development or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page With less production the market will have risen on food prices and this will reflect directly to the average consumer. Another thing that will probably happen is that big corporation will continue their growth and they will kill smaller farmers with their prices. This will cause no competition in the agriculture and will lead to unfairly high prices. Another important thing that may occur is the lower quality of the products, because every farmer corporation will try to get as much as they can and they will no longer care about the quality because the competition is gone. I think that the benefits will be less from removing the subsidy, because this will lead to affecting the market. Another important question that faced the world is: What would be better for the poorest country increasing the foreign aid or give them the opportunities to struggle for their money on agriculture market or in other words stopping the subsidy in the rich countries, so the poorest one can have their opportunities to compete. When I’m in the situation to choose between two decisions like poor or rich, small or big I think that the answer is always somewhere in the middle. But unfortunately at most of the time we have to take solutions that are mutually exclusive. We have one very good expression about that in Bulgaria â€Å"There is no way Wolf to be full and lamb to be whole. †. If there is an opportunity for those two things to work together will be great. If not, I am thinking that it is always better to let the countries who know what they are doing, to do the right things and wait for them to help others. Otherwise if smaller countries going to the debt, bigger will not be able to help them at all. If they are not good enough to compete in the niche, they have to try improve their goods and try to find another way to sell their produce or crops or whatever they have. They have to try to make their goods different than others and this will make them more competitive at the market. This is my opinion about this question and the best way is if they do not know how to compete and how to be attractive on the market they better stay and wait for aids. Otherwise this will lead to lower quality of the agricultural goods and sometimes shortage of these goods. Government in developed countries continues to lavish extensive support on agricultural producers even though those producers constitute very small segments of the population. I think that government does this in order to help its own nation not just the producers. Yes they try to stimulate internal production with the entire subsidy that they gave but this is good for the whole nation not just for producers. Otherwise they have to import all this goods from other countries and this will cause higher price on the market and this will lower the purchasing power of average consumer. In my opinion government doing this in order to satisfy and protect its nation. Regarding to the question about World Trade Organization and what they are trying to do with reducing barriers to free trade in agriculture I absolutely agree with them. As I stated before the perfect way is to find the golden middle between subsidies and free trade. In fact, free trade exists now, but some countries have difficulties in fighting competition. In any case I do not think that the full subsidy is correct, but in some areas is imperative. Each country should establish its own priorities for subsidies and to comply with World Trade Organization.