World Provety and Starvation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

World Provety and Starvation - Essay Example An ethical judgment is difficult to make due to the fact that simple rules conflict. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist system as it regards an action as right as long as it benefits the whole society. According to UNICEF, 10 million children under 5 die each year due to poverty. Clearly, individuals tend to spend lavishly on themselves rather than investing these funds on someone that is malnourished and starved. Utilitarianism ethics argues that suffering, starvation and death from lack of food is detrimental. If one does not take any action to prevent this suffering without being shallow, then according to utilitarian ethics they are wrong. If one fails to donate to an agency and does not facilitate that process directly himself, they are ethically wrong and at fault. In addition, the concept of Golden Rule is embedded in the utilitarian ethics itself. If one understands the fact that the limit their lavish spending to bare minimum, they can drastically eliminate some of the pov erty in society. Consequently, Kantian ethics takes a different approach in this situation. Donating to a charitable organization often is considered a virtuous act.