St.Margaret's News July 2020 | Page 8

Caring for those in Poverty In 2009, Peter Singer wrote the first edition of The Life You Can Save to demonstrate why we should care about and help those living in global extreme poverty, and how easy it is to improve and even save lives by giving effectively. Peter then founded a non-profit organization of the same name, The Life You Can Save, to advance the ideas in the book. Together, the book and organization have helped raise millions of dollars for effective charities, supporting work protecting people from diseases, restoring sight, avoiding unwanted pregnancies, ensuring that children get the nutrients they need, and providing opportunities to not only survive but thrive. In the decade since the first book’s publication, dramatic progress has been made in reducing global extreme poverty. However, millions still live on less than $1.90 a day, and there is yet much to be done. To address the continuing need, and to build on the success of the first edition, Singer acquired the book rights and updated the content to be current and even more relevant. With mission-aligned celebrity narrators and by giving away the audiobook and e-book for free (in addition to having it available for purchase through traditional e-commerce and retailers), the 10th-anniversary edition of The Life You Can Save aims to inform, inspire and empower as many people as possible to act now and save lives. It is possible to get a free audiobook version or to buy a Kindle e-book version - https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org.au/the-book/ _________________________________________________________ In an affluent society, it’s often hard to draw the line between what we want and what we need. Popular culture celebrates materialism and excessive consumption as essential signs of success and power. Whole industries exist to persuade us that things we want are actually things we need - or, at least, things we deserve - to make our lives more convenient, or more efficient, or more fulfilling. The message all around seems clear: wants are needs, and the more the better. In our daily lives - or in mine, anyway - the relationship to materialism seems more complicated. I suppose some may openly embrace being materialistic. But most seem to deny it. I know I do because I struggle with the uncomfortable ethical implications and negative environmental impacts of overconsumption. For instance, I know that the Arctic is on fire, that scientists estimate that in fifty years much of the earth will become uninhabitable, and that each purchase I make only increases my St Margaret’s News 8 July 2020