The Life You Can Save
Acting now to end world poverty

In a world of both extreme poverty and great affluence, it is morally incumbent upon those who have more than they need, to give some of it to those who have less.

In the affluent countries, how much should we give?

And a harder question: How much should we expect others in our communities to give? In Peter Singer’s words, what should the ‘public standard’ for giving be?

In his new book, The Life You Can Save: Acting now to end world poverty, Peter sets out to do no less than establish such a public standard.

But well before you get to that public standard – in the last chapter – you will have sent off your donation to Oxfam or whomever, and so will have saved a life, or more likely, several.

The book is progressively being launched throughout 2009 and 2010, in many languages and countries. (It is already available in Australasia, the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Sweden, and Denmark.)

See the book’s web site for more information, a short extract, Peter’s book-launch itinerary, and an opportunity to pledge your own contribution to ending world poverty.

Oh, I almost forgot. Peter talks about FairShare in the book, as one of the organisations that has set some sort of benchmark for public giving. To quote just one sentence: ‘Fair Share International offers a rule of thumb for how the ethical twenty-first-century citizen should live ….’