But consider that, according to UNICEF, nearly 10 million children under five years old die each year from causes related to poverty. I think it’s safe to assume that most people would agree with the mother’s statement.

You don’t have to be trained to jump in after a drowning child.”1 The mother responded: “If you’re walking down the street and you see a child drowning you automatically go in that water. At the inquest on Jordon’s death, the policemen’s inaction was defended on the grounds that they had not been trained to deal with such situations. He was later pulled out, but attempts at resuscitation failed. They raised the alarm, and two auxiliary policemen soon arrived they refused to enter the pond to find Jordon. Anglers managed to pull Bethany out, but by then Jordon could no longer be seen. He struggled to support her but went under himself. Jordon Lyon, a ten-year-old boy, leaped into a pond after his stepsister Bethany slipped in. In 2007, something resembling this hypothetical situation actually occurred near Manchester, England. How could anyone consider a pair of shoes, or missing an hour or two at work, a good reason for not saving a child’s life? “What about your shoes? And being late for work?” I ask them. Predictably, they respond that you should save the child. When we start talking about global poverty, I ask my students what they think you should do in this situation. I teach a course called Practical Ethics. By the time you hand the child over to someone responsible for him, and change your clothes, you’ll be late for work. Wading in is easy and safe, but you will ruin the new shoes you bought only a few days ago, and get your suit wet and muddy.

If you don’t wade in and pull him out, he seems likely to drown. The child is unable to keep his head above the water for more than a few seconds at a time. You look for the parents or babysitter, but there is no one else around. As you get closer, you see that it is a very young child, just a toddler, who is flailing about, unable to stay upright or walk out of the pond. The weather’s cool today, though, and the hour is early, so you are surprised to see a child splashing about in the pond. On hot days, children sometimes play in the pond, which is only about knee-deep. On your way to work, you pass a small pond.

The life you can save book