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When I was a teenager I thought charity absent asceticism was pathetic. Why give the homeless guy your pocket change when you can afford to give him $20 for din
by secstate 11y ago
When I was a teenager I thought charity absent asceticism was pathetic. Why give the homeless guy your pocket change when you can afford to give him $20 for dinner? Why donate to the fire department, when you could make time in your life to volunteer for the fire department? (I live in a small New England town where volunteer depts are the norm.)
Compensating for self-centered guilt is not evil or virtuous. Life is not boolean. When you start to dig into any one person's psychology it's amazing any of us have the gumption to wake up in the morning and accomplish anything given how much of our habits and behaviors are coping mechanisms for something else.
This was a very good article. But the conclusion that we should all feel guilty for covering up our guilt with social class worship is not terribly productive.
- tamana 11y agoSure, charity is better than non charity. Charity with ascetism is better. consumption usually created pollution, and white often is a product of exploitation. Even high income is often a product of exploitation (power imbalance effects how much money flows in your direction -- even if you are not selling that power, your employer or customer may be weilding it to your benefit )
- AnimalMuppet 11y ago> But the conclusion that we should all feel guilty for covering up our guilt with social class worship is not terribly productive. I didn't think that was the conclusion at all.