How to be a Superhero

Have you ever wanted to be a Superhero? Do you want to save the planet? Well, you can. Read on to learn how - it's much easier than you think.
Most of us - if only from time to time - dream of doing something that is going to benefit others, of becoming someone who is going to make a difference. We dream of becoming doctors or teachers, writers or artists, and of dedicating our lives to improving the lot of those less fortunate than ourselves. Some succeed, though for many the idealism drops away, either through our own inertia, or because of the constraints of real life; you didn't make the grades for medical school, and now you’re trapped in a job that doesn’t have a lot of point to it except that it’s making you a living, and heaven knows, we all need that...
But even so, you can still do a huge amount to benefit humanity. You, as one of the richest people on the planet, can make a huge amount of difference by giving some of your money to some of the poorest people in the developing world.
Me, rich? Are you kidding…
Besides, I pay my taxes. Isn’t it the job of governments to provide relief for the destitute? Who but they can co-ordinate international aid?
Yes, I say: if you are born in Europe, you are middle-class and are educated to university level – as 90% of those who are likely to be reading this will be – you are, by global standards, easily within the top 10% of the world’s richest people. If you are still a student, and those earnings are at present only potential, then you still have the chance to learn one of wealth creation’s great secrets: if you can learn to manage your money when you have very little of it, you’ll know how to handle money once more and more of it begins to turn up in your life.
And no, I say: you cannot expect government aid to help those most in need, for the simple reason that governments give aid where there’s most political incentive to do so. Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East (though worthy causes all) will receive far more aid from Western governments than sub-Saharan Africa for many decades to come.
So you still want to be a Superhero? It takes two things. One is the resolve to set aside some of your money each month. Try starting with 2%, with the aim of raising it to 5% in a year or two, and a goal of making it 10% once those Superman muscles have really been flexed… But start small, and start now. We are talking the price of a night on the town, here. Stay home one evening a month when you would otherwise go out for a pizza or a few beers, and that sacrifice, after a few months, might well raise enough to save, or significantly change, another person’s life.
And the second thing you need is information: how much do people in the West need to give to save the planet? Who should you give it to? Do charities really make a difference?
I’m happy to say that the answers to all such questions can be found in one place: Peter Singer’s book The Life You Can Save. Singer is a moral philosopher who has thought through the answers to the problem of ending world poverty – and concludes that it can only be done (but that it can be done) if you and I are willing to play a part. It is a book that works on many levels, both intellectual and emotional, philosophical and practical. Do, please, read it.
Giving What We Can is another inspiring and informative source. Members of this international society have pledged to give 10% of their income for life towards eliminating global poverty, and their website spells out exactly how to give most effectively.
And for Italian readers of this blog, I’d like to suggest a home-grown organization that is also well worth supporting: the Fondazione Ivo de Carneri, which does wonderful work in parasitology from its base in Pemba, Zanzibar.
On a final note, there is another route to becoming a Superhero. For one man’s attempt to do so by more traditional methods, look out for Peter Stebbings’ hilarious film, Defendor. It's a parody of the whole Superhero phenomenon, which succeeds in being both zany and moving. Do look out for it.