I'm going to start by saying that I love reading Peter Singer, and I stand with him on moral issues that are a part of my heart. His solution to world poverty, however ideal, is a marvelously optimistic approach to a matter that is more complex than what he says it could be.
In a perfect world, people would give up every luxury and live only on the bare necessities in order to assist famished populations across the world without a problem. But we do not live in a perfect world.
One of the themes of Shakespeare's King Lear is the concept of sight and blindness. Most citizens of first world countries live in "blindness," even if they firmly believe they do not. According to Singer, anyone who doesn't sacrifice all of their luxuries for the good of the Starving Children in Africa are blind. Only those who live on the $30,00 and donate everything else have true sight.
I believe that it's possible for everyone to share in this sight, but what Singer asks is too unrealistic. Sight first requires mutual recognition of the people who need aid and assistance. We live in blindness because that is all we see them as, but they are humans with heads and hearts like us. Once that is achieved, everyone could give a percentage, say 10%, of their income to charity. This would not mean drastically changing one's lifestyle, or drastically effecting the country's economy.
Thanks to Singer, it is evident that themes that are present in Lear are relevant when it comes to the world today.
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