FOREIGN AID: A DISCUSSION ON HOW THE INTERPRETATION OF LAW AFFECTS ONE’S MORAL UNDERSTANDING OF DONATION

Abstract

This essay contains three argumentative sections and a conclusion. The first is a discussion of the two-competing philosophical legal theories: natural law and legal positivism. Natural law argues that law is necessarily based on morals. Legal positivism claims that law derives strictly from social standards. The second section will cover the moral debate on giving foreign aid. I will present arguments from those for and opposed to providing foreign aid. Lastly, I will apply the interpretation of law covered in the first section to the moral debate presented in the second section. I will show that the law in the United States promotes a legal positivist idea and thus weakens our moral understanding of providing aid to the poor. I will ultimately argue that if we in the United States were to follow natural law rather than legal positivism, we would feel a stronger moral obligation to donate to the millions of people living in extreme poverty.