Jackie Danicki

(Just a quick one…)

Michael Jennings makes a comment worth quoting here:

I think that if this kind of aid genuinely was the solution to poverty in the world, then we in the west would have a moral obligation to provide it, because that there is as much poverty in the world as there is is a stain on humanity. But really, there is no “we”, just a whole lot of people. To put it more bluntly, I think that you as an individual would have a moral obligation to contribute in such circumstances.

This is an entirely different thing from arguing that you should be coerced to contribute through taxation or any other way. Moral choices have no meaning unless they are made by you individually. The way modern states reduce the freedom of individuals by offering to make moral choices on their behalf is entirely pernicious.

But one shouldn’t pretend that because you should have the freedom to make a choice, all choices are morally equal…Moral obligations and legal obligations are not and should not be the same. (Essentially, if western aid programs actually did work, I can’t imagine there would be much trouble raising the necessary money privately from individuals).

However, back in the real world it doesn’t actually matter, because aid doesn’t work and the things that we could do to actually help alleviate poverty are actually in our own interests and would actually increase our freedom and wealth if we did them.

Filed under: Life