Consider this a follow-up to “Advocating vs. Caring vs. Helping”.

I teach Peter Singer’s “Famine, Affluence, and Morality” at least once a year. Here’s a brief, stylized summary of the argument. If you saw a drowning child and could easily save her, you’d think you’re obligated to do so, even if it ruined your $500 iPad. If you’re obligated to ruin a $500 iPad to save a child’s life, then you’re obligated to forgo buying the iPad in the first place, and should just use the money to save lives. Singer’s argument is more sophisticated than this, but that’s a good first pass.

Generally, students agree with Singer, though they usually say he exaggerates the extent of our obligations. Most agree that they should give much more than they do if not as much as Singer’s argument implies. Most students are unable to produce a decent objection to Singer’s argument.

The first time I taught the article, one student said, somewhat jokingly, “Yeah, soak the rich!” Given that the median household income of the incoming class that year was (if I remember correctly) well over $200,000, I laughed. But the next few times I taught the article, I tried an experiment.

After teaching Singer’s article, I gave the students a sheet of paper with pictures of starving children, one picture of a healthy American child for contrast, and the phone numbers and websites of some trusted charities. (I made it clear that participating in this exercise was strictly voluntary, and that they would neither be rewarded nor punished for any actions they undertook.) I then asked them to carry the paper with them in their pockets for one week. Whenever they made a purchase on anything, I asked them to look at the paper, and then decide whether to buy the item or to send the money to help others instead. Over a few years, I tried this exercise with about 150-200 students, including undergraduates and high school students from our summer program.

About half the students claimed to have participated by carrying the paper with them and look at it periodically. How much money do you think they donated over the week? Answer below the fold.

$0.

Students are usually shocked to learn none of their peers donated money. I was surprised, too. I figured they’d donate just a little, enough to ease their consciences.

One student in particular told me how she was just about to purchase a burrito, looked at the starving children, and decided just to eat at the dining hall (the “Ratty”), since her parents had already paid for her meals there. I asked her what she did with the $6.00 she saved. She said she did nothing, but felt guilty. Guilty feelings don’t feed children, though.

What’s the lesson? We’ve had excellent class discussions as a result of this exercise. But I’ll let you decide what the lesson is. (Abusive comments about privileged students will be deleted, though.)