Dr. Paul Farmer has talked about his own unusual background, growing up living in a bus without electricity or running water and bathing in nearby lakes or rivers. The sacrifice of comfort and the amenities of modern civilization is therefore easier for him than it would be for many people. Dr. Farmer makes his sacrifices in the service of something he regards as more important, and it is difficult to argue with him when his objective is to bring high-quality medical care to some of the world's poorest people.

You will have your own ideas about what is worth sacrificing and why, and what is worth making sacrifices for, but, in general terms, everyone makes sacrifices on much the same basis as Dr. Farmer, giving up something relatively trivial for something more important. One might do this on an entirely selfish basis, sacrificing time and leisure for more money. Many people make sacrifices for their children or other loved ones, for instance, by working hard even at jobs they do not enjoy, so that their children can have a better education. As Peter Singer points out in The Expanding Circle, the more tenuous the connection between two people, the less we expect one to make sacrifices for the other. It is fairly common to make sacrifices for one's wife, husband, or children but uncommon to make any significant sacrifice for people one does not know, as Dr. Farmer does.