NYT article, "The Hypocrisy of ‘Helping’ the Poor" by Paul Theroux

[delrem]

6. A good read. Thanks for the link.

There's so much to think about, and the important thing is to keep thinking. Not let them drown your thoughts out with their pre-packaged holiday plans.

I'm reminded of a clip I saw of an interviewer doing a quick q & a of some students after Bernie Sanders' speech at Liberty University, where a (just one! others were much more positive!) student said that he agreed 100% with what Sanders said about what needs to be done, but dismissed Sanders by saying that he thinks it (social movement for the betterment of people) all ought to be done through individual charity and by churches. Not through democratic government. The conclusion I came to after listening to the student was that the student preferred that all morality should be happenstance, whimsical, individual, and that there aren't universal standards that people in democratic alliance can and should achieve.

My own view is the exact opposite of that.
I think individuals are too lazy to be "ethical" on any consistent basis.
Although charity is a virtue, for sure, it can't be depended on to solve any existing wide ranging social problem.
To suppose otherwise is to contribute to those problems.