Is Your Charity Doing More Harm Than Good?
It is an undeniable byproduct of our Christian heritage that America is the most giving nation on earth, both at home and abroad. But is it working? Has it done anyone any good?
Google “charity” or “aid” and it becomes obvious that thought leaders around the world, even or perhaps especially those in third world countries, recognize the harmful effects – dependency, stifled growth, entitlement – that our well intentioned aid has produced.
Here at home, it is even truer today than it was in the 1800’s when French politician Alexis de Tocqueville said that “Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom…. The subjection of individuals will increase amongst democratic nations, not only in the same proportion as their equality, but in the same proportion as their ignorance.” Even as our nation teeters on the brink of bankruptcy, our addiction to dependency grows unchecked. It is no coincidence that over half of our population is considered too poor to pay any income tax. Our middle class is not shrinking, it is just moving down so that we can all be equal in poverty!
The only ones who benefit from mass charity are those in or seeking power. This explains why big corporations as well as large labor unions are so often the most ardent supporters of populist political parties purporting economic “redistribution”. Corporate executives, union bosses, and professional politicians all recognize that a subservient dependent population serves their purposes much better than a free and self-sufficient one.
In the Jewish Torah, Maimonides defines 8 levels of charity. Among the lower levels are the various forms of gifting. But the highest, most noble level is reserved for those acts which strengthen the recipient so that he will no longer be dependent upon others.
It is this 8th level of charity that is the purpose of Social Entrepreneurship Ideas. By their very nature, social enterprises break the cycle of dependency, creating independent economic points of light that are free to address the social needs they find most impressive, in the way they find most helpful.
- They confirm the Abundance Paradigm
- They serve the greater, rather than the individual good
- They serve the individual, by serving the greater good
- They break the chains of dependency
- They create jobs
So whether you are an established entrepreneur, or just starting your new social business, ask yourself whether your charity is promoting dependency or responsibility, entitlement or altruism, stagnation or growth, slavery or freedom.