Global poverty and philosophy: why the capabilities approach applies Although our world is increasingly technologically advanced and developed, a billion people are still expected to live in extreme poverty by 2015. (Country comparisons). For as long as humanity has existed, poor people have been left behind in the wake of progress. Many philosophical theories have been published to try to solve global poverty, and while some are better than others, they all draw attention to various facets of the problem. The famous theories built on each other, giving the next generation new ideas to examine and ultimately attempt to discover a viable option to help those in need. The recently introduced capabilities approach, published by economist Amartya Sen and supported philosopher Martha Nussbaum, offers the most applicable solution to an ever-complex problem. Although revolutionary, the capabilities approach was only conceivable through centuries of careful thinking about a global problem spanning millennia. Utilitarianism, a famous theory often applied to problems of global poverty, first emerged in England in the 19th century and primarily revolved around the principle of greatest happiness. Classical utilitarianism holds that all people are of equal value and that everyone's goal should be to maximize happiness, because happiness is inherently good and valuable. Since utilitarianism holds all people equal, this means that proximity to poverty does not matter because distance does not diminish the value of human life. This also means that if an action increases overall happiness, you have a duty to help those in need. (Goldworth 315) Peter Singer, a utilitarian famous for his belief in the effect...... middle of article ...... on human development. " United Nations Development Program, January 1, 2013. Web. April 28. 2014. http://hdr.undp.org/en.Goldworth, Amnon. “The Meaning of Bentham's Greatest Happiness Principle.” Journal of the History of Philosophy 7: 315. Web April 27, 2014. “Guide to Country Comparisons” Central Intelligence Agency, January 1, 2014. Web. April 27, 2014. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook. Pogge, Thomas. “A global plan to end poverty.” RSA Conference. Royal Society of the Arts. London. January 1, 2013. Opening speech. Pogge, Thomas and Darrel Moellendorf. Global Justice: Seminal Essays. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2008. Print. Pogge, Thomas and Keith Horton. Global Ethics: Seminal Essays. St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2008. Print.Singer, Peter. “The why and how of effective altruism”, March 2013..