PHLB05H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Consequentialism, Disposable And Discretionary Income
Document Summary
Obligations to give up excess income and provide it for life saving treatment/aid to those who need it. Context of the article: east bengal cyclone, war, poverty (1971: 9 million destitute of refugees. It is possible for affluent nations to alleviate this suffering: actual response: relative indifference. Britain: 14 million v. 275 on super jets. Australia: less than 1/12th the cost of sydney"s opera house. 6. 9 million children died in 2011 from poverty-related, preventable causes. P2: if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening without thereby sacrificing something of comparable moral importance, we ought to do so. C: we ought to prevent death from lack of food, health-care, etc. We should prevent something bad from happening, if we will not thereby be causing something similarly bad from occurring to ourselves/others. P2 is distinct from the consequentialist principle that we should maximize happiness.
