Why we don't care about Darfur or Rwanda

The reason I don't think is racism. The reason I think is rooted in a calculus, more implicit than explicit, that the value of the life of a person in Darfur or Rwanda isn't worth the same as a life in the developed world. Basically if in order to save some people whose life expectancy is under 40 years and who will live largely in squalor then it doesn't resonate with people in developed countries that they should send their sons and daughters, whose life expectancy is above 70 years, and whose life, for even the lowest of the low, involves flush toilets and full bellies to go to possibly die to save the less developed life or lives.

Put another way we think of this as a reverse of the adult running in front of the car to save the child who is about to get hit - it is a selfless move to save and preserve what is a life full of promise and verve in exchange for a more over-the-hill life. Here the parallel is the promise and verve running out to push the decrepit person out of the way to preserve their life and possibly end their own.

I'm not saying it is right, quite probably it is wrong, but let's call a spade a spade.