Inquiry Three: Research Blog 3

Anslow Matthew, . "Foreign aid and moral vision." http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2012/05/14/3502266.htm. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jul 2012.

This article dealt directly with the topic of the “white man’s burden” and its effects on providing aid, just applied in a different context. Like previous texts I found, I could apply it meet my chosen topic. The author of this article gives good explanations for why it is important to give aid to those who are suffering, and how it does not stem from an attitude of superiority. The author states, “In terms of the morality of foreign aid, we are not so much obligated to give aid because it is a virtuous act in and of itself, but because it is simply wrong to live in a civilization in which some are systematically subjugated for the benefit of others.” This quote explains the author’s opinion about the reasons why it is wrong to leave impoverished countries to suffer, and serves as an introduction to his later reasoning about why people are obligated to help, but not because the motive is to assert superiority. When talking about the inequality of countries around the world and how some countries evolved over history that included crimes such as slavery and colonialism, the author mentions, “The privileged of today are quick to point out that they had nothing to do with these crimes and that they should not be held to account for the sins of their forefathers. And right they are! But if they cannot inherit their ancestors' sins, then why can they inherit the fruits of those sins, the huge economic superiority prevailing at the end of the colonial period?” The author uses this as the basis for his reasoning that those in a position to help should do so because it is ethically sound. He states the claim by saying “affluent countries, partly through the global institutional order they impose, bear a great causal and moral responsibility for the massive global persistence of severe poverty. Citizens of these countries thus have not merely a positive duty to assist innocent persons mired in life-threatening poverty, but also a more stringent negative duty to work politically and personally toward ceasing, or compensating for, their contribution to this ongoing catastrophe."

I agree with a lot of what the author has to say about motives for providing aid to those who need it, and can use some of the quotes form this article in my paper as support for this reasoning. It was also through a link in this article that I found the name of a prolific writer in this subject, and was able to locate some of his works through the Miami Library. I plan on using these resources as another research source.