The Singer Solution to World Poverty

In the film Central Station, a woman named Dora unknowingly puts a child in danger in exchange for money she spends on a new TV. Dora’s story takes on symbolic significance when Singer maps out a key similarity between her situation and that of the wealthy: Both face a choice between helping a child and enjoying material possessions. Singer positions his discussion of Dora’s situation at the beginning of his article, since it serves both as a striking introduction to the topic and as a provoking thought experiment. However, Singer acknowledges that the parallels he draws are not a perfect analog: He admits that “there are several differences between the two situations that could support different moral judgments about them” (61). That might seem counterproductive, but by contrasting Dora to his readers, at least initially, Singer lures those readers into passing judgment on Dora—a judgment that he soon reflects onto those who fail to donate.

Singer hopes readers will have a version of Dora’s experience as they encounter his text. Significantly, Singer suggests that Dora may have known the truth “all along,” but she doesn’t experience a change of heart until her neighbor’s “plain speaking” touches her heart (60). After “a troubled night,” Dora decides to “take the boy back” (60). Similarly, readers may be vaguely aware that they could prevent suffering by taking action. Singer, like Dora’s neighbor, hopes to guide readers to a new, unsettling awareness of the responsibility to donate. Singer lists excuses that Dora could have offered if she chose to keep the money—"that it is a tough world, other people have nice new TV's too, and if selling the kid is the only way she can get one, well, he was only a street kid” (60)—as a preview of some possible reader objections he will address later.