World Hunger and Moral Obligation

by William Aiken (Editor), Hugh LaFollette

Paperback

194 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1977

Reviews

[Crow · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was an extremely hard read. I took it off of a “free bookshelf” with the hopes to be introduced to multiple points of views surrounding world hunger. While this book did introduce to me numerous arguments surrounding starvation in different countries, the author seemed to be apathetic and had an argument to counter every empathetic stance.
However, I did appreciate the questions scattered throughout the chapters to make you think about what you were reading - but I wouldn’t suggest reading this if you wanted to educate yourself on how you could improve / fight against hunger.

[Naeem Ud Din · Rating 1 out of 5]

Review spoiler alert: my review is as disjointed as this book. The moral apathy of a few essaysists just tied a knot in my brain, I can't think straight.

Garrett Hardin's framework of Lifeboat Ethics is nothing but a "brain-fart". In fact, the stinkiest of all frameworks.

This is a 200-page book on how the wealthy may or may not be at the moral obligation to feed the hungry.

Also, I can't believe we have "authors" who are willing to go lengths under the garb of 'reasoning' to conclude that it's prudent that we starve poor people because otherwise it isn't sustainable since they have higher fertility rates.

I am just surprised that they are just out of touch with the fact that average global fertility rates have been slumping all these decades.

Their viewpoints are grossly exclusive and they also reek of implied superiority but I am sure they'd think differently had they been born in a poor country.