Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
The Life You Can Save summary
How to Do Your Part to End World Poverty
26 mins
Brief summary
The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer educates readers on the moral obligation to help those in extreme poverty and offers actionable steps towards effective giving. It challenges the reader to reflect on their values and become part of the solution to reduce global poverty.
Table of Contents
The Life You Can Save
Summary of 8 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 8
We can eliminate extreme poverty, but we haven’t.
When the philosopher Peter Singer teaches his introductory course on ethics, it always starts the same way. He tells his students a story: Imagine you’re walking to work and come upon a small child drowning in a shallow lake. You can easily save the child, but doing so would ruin your new shoes. So, do you dive in?
Of course, every student is quick to answer yes. After all, a life is worth more than even the loveliest loafers. But then, Singer poses a follow-up question: In 2017, 5.4 million children under five died of preventable diseases. Now, how many students bought new shoes with money they could have donated to an effective charity?
This second query is much more uncomfortable. It highlights the disturbing truth that our actions don’t always align with our moral compass.
The key message? We can eliminate extreme poverty, but we haven’t.
All around the world, humans suffer and die because they aren’t able to afford the most basic necessities. According to the World Bank, as of 2018, 736 million people live in extreme poverty, meaning they live on the local equivalent of $1.90 a day. This poverty is the primary driver of premature deaths. In a country like Sierra Leone, with high poverty rates, one in 13 children dies before their fifth birthday. In a wealthy country, like Australia, only one in 263 has the same fate.
Such statistics may seem overwhelming. But, in reality, humanity has made great strides in changing this condition. Since 1993, the rate of extreme poverty around the world has nearly halved. The most dramatic drop came from East Asia, where the poverty rate went from 60 percent in 1990 to just 2.3 percent in 2015.
The wealthiest nations are faring well, too. As of 2018, about half of all people are middle-class or above, meaning they have excess money for consumer goods, vacations, or other unexpected expenses. And of course, the rich are doing the best of all. According to Forbes, there are about 2,000 billionaires around the globe – twice as many as ten years ago.
So, with such ample wealth available on earth, why do we allow millions to die because they can’t afford proper nutrition or basic health care? If we know we can reduce poverty, why haven’t we reduced it to zero? We’ll begin to answer these questions in the next blink.
Want to see all full key ideas from The Life You Can Save?
Key ideas in The Life You Can Save
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is The Life You Can Save about?
The Life You Can Save (2019) is a philosophical exploration of the moral implications of poverty. This provocative treatise asks us to consider if we’re truly doing our part to end human suffering.
The Life You Can Save Review
The Life You Can Save (2009) by Peter Singer is a thought-provoking book that challenges our perspectives on global poverty and our responsibility to help those in need. Here's why this book is worth reading:
- It presents compelling arguments and thought experiments that force us to reflect on our ethical obligations to alleviate global poverty.
- By exploring the real-life stories of individuals living in extreme poverty, the book provides a humanizing perspective and creates empathy in the reader.
- The book offers practical solutions for making a difference, including effective ways to donate money and choose impactful charitable organizations.
Best quote from The Life You Can Save
Yet while thousands of children die each day, we spend money on things we take for granted and would hardly notice if they were not there. Is that wrong?
—Peter Singer
Who should read The Life You Can Save?
- Sensitive souls wanting to help the least fortunate
- Hardened cynics skeptical of any charities
- Anyone interested in probing the human condition
Categories with The Life You Can Save
Book summaries like The Life You Can Save
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
33 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
The Life You Can Save FAQs
What is the main message of The Life You Can Save?
The main message of The Life You Can Save is the moral obligation to help those in need.
How long does it take to read The Life You Can Save?
The reading time for The Life You Can Save varies, but it typically takes several hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.
Is The Life You Can Save a good book? Is it worth reading?
The Life You Can Save is worth reading as it highlights the importance of making a positive impact on the lives of others.
Who is the author of The Life You Can Save?
The author of The Life You Can Save is Peter Singer.
What to read after The Life You Can Save?
If you're wondering what to read next after The Life You Can Save, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood
- Doing Good Better by William MacAskill
- Difficult Conversations Don't Have to Be Difficult by Jon Gordon & Amy P. Kelly
- Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
- The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch
- Think This, Not That by Josh Axe
- The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- The Open Society and Its Enemies by Karl R. Popper
- Mastering Leadership by Robert J. Anderson and William A. Adams