Charity (practice)
However, other actions can also be considered charitable: visiting the imprisoned or homebound, ransoming captives, educating orphans, and supporting social movements.
With the rise of more social peer-to-peer processes, many charities are moving away from the charitable model, adopting a more direct donor-to-recipient approach.
Institutions developed to assist the poor, and these charities now constitute the majority of charitable giving in terms of monetary value.
[16] A study by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding examined philanthropic and charitable giving among members of American religious communities.
The study also revealed that most American faith groups prioritize charity for their own places of worship in monetary donations, and then for other causes.
[18] A philosophical critique of charity can be found in Oscar Wilde's essay The Soul of Man Under Socialism, in which he refers to it as "a ridiculously inadequate mode of partial restitution... usually accompanied by some impertinent attempt on the part of the sentimentalist to tyrannize over [the poor's] private lives."
[19] Slavoj Žižek approves of Wilde's thoughts and adds his own interpretation of the effect of charity on the charitable: When confronted with a starving child and told, "For the price of a couple of cappuccinos, you can save her life!"
"In his 1845 treatise on the condition of the working class in England, Friedrich Engels highlights that charitable giving, whether by governments or individuals, is often an attempt to mask unpleasant suffering.
Engels cites a letter to an English newspaper editor complaining about beggars who try to invoke pity by displaying their tattered clothing and ailments.
In his work Moral Man and Immoral Society, he criticizes charities that fund Black education, arguing that they fail to address the root causes of inequality.
[23] Growing awareness of poverty and food insecurity has sparked debates among scholars about the needs-based versus the rights-based approach.
Mariana Chilton, in the American Journal of Public Health, suggested that current government policies reflect the needs-based approach, perpetuating the misconception that charity alone can address basic needs insecurity.
Chilton argued for increased government accountability, transparency, and public participation, along with recognizing the vulnerability and discrimination caused by existing policies.
Chilton concluded with four strategies for a national plan: 1) monitoring to assess threats to food insecurity, 2) improving coordination at different levels, 3) enhancing accountability, and 4) involving the public in policy construction.
For still other scholars, medieval charity was primarily a way to elevate one's social status and affirm existing hierarchies of power.
[29] Because it is commanded by the Torah and not voluntary, the practice is not technically an act of charity; such a concept is virtually nonexistent in Jewish tradition.
Jews give tzedakah, which can take the form of money, time, and resources to the needy, out of "righteousness" and "justice" rather than benevolence, generosity, or charitableness.
[29] The Torah requires that 10 percent of a Jew's income be allotted to righteous deeds or causes, regardless if the receiving party is rich or poor.
[31][32]: 365–366 Dāna has been defined in traditional texts, state Krishnan and Manoj,[32]: 361–382 as "any action of relinquishing the ownership of what one considered or identified as one's own, and investing the same in a recipient without expecting anything in return".
[36] Historical records, such as those by the Persian historian Abū Rayḥān al-Bīrūnī who visited India in early 11th century, suggest dāna has been an ancient and medieval era practice among Indian religions.
[38] Effective altruism encourages individuals to consider all causes and actions and to act in the way that brings about the greatest positive impact, based upon their values.
[41] People associated with the movement include philosopher Peter Singer,[42] Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz,[43] Cari Tuna,[44] Oxford-based researchers William MacAskill[45] and Toby Ord,[46] professional poker player Liv Boeree,[47] and writer Jacy Reese Anthis.
