3 ms·

I think in general this is a fantastic idea. Often, charity is too presumptuous: the giver purports to know what the receiver 'really needs', so rather than g

by RobinL 14y ago

I think in general this is a fantastic idea. Often, charity is too presumptuous: the giver purports to know what the receiver 'really needs', so rather than giving money they give something else. I think this is shortsighted as it's very difficult for relatively wealthy people to put themselves in the mindset of somebody who is living in extreme poverty, especially in a different country. This makes it even less plausible that the giver can make a better decision than the receiver as to what to do with additional resources. Put it this way: if you were really poor, would you rather be given money to help your sort your own life out, or for some charity to use the money for 'what's best for you'. I know what I'd want. I also think from the point of view of the giver, it might be nice to be less judgemental about how the money is used. Even if a very poor person 'wastes' the additional money on a little luxury for once (say, cosmetics), then I hope at least the giver has brought a little happiness into their lives, if only for a moment. That's enough for me, and is why around a year ago I switched all my charitable donations away from Kiva (which I still think is a good cause) to GiveDirectly. However, the idea is not without problems (as idenfied by Givedirectly). The biggest problem I think is that if some members of a poor community get help and others don't, it seems unjust and may lead to hostility.

vidarh 14y ago
> I think this is shortsighted as it's very difficult for relatively wealthy people to put themselves in the mindset of somebody who is living in extreme poverty, especially in a different country. I think the perfect example of this is the reaction whenever someone want to do something "techy" in Africa, where there's almost always a stream of "but they're all living in mud huts with dirty water and no food and haven't got electricity" type replies. Meanwhile Africa is expected to pass 80% mobile penetration this year - they might possibly have passed it already... Waste? Of course for some, but in many countries, SMS is the way for people to banking, for example.
icebraining 14y ago
Put it this way: if you were really poor, would you rather be given money to help your sort your own life out, or for some charity to use the money for 'what's best for you'. I know what I'd want. A problem is that people are often not free - due to family or social pressures or even plain violence (e.g. domestic) - to decide how to use money.
cwp 14y ago
I regret that I have but one upvote to give. It's a little depressing to see how much of any discussion of charity is centered around "what if they use it for something pleasurable instead of investing it?"

by RobinL 14y ago

vidarh 14y ago

> I think this is shortsighted as it's very difficult for relatively wealthy people to put themselves in the mindset of somebody who is living in extreme poverty, especially in a different country. I think the perfect example of this is the reaction whenever someone want to do something "techy" in Africa, where there's almost always a stream of "but they're all living in mud huts with dirty water and no food and haven't got electricity" type replies. Meanwhile Africa is expected to pass 80% mobile penetration this year - they might possibly have passed it already... Waste? Of course for some, but in many countries, SMS is the way for people to banking, for example.

icebraining 14y ago

Put it this way: if you were really poor, would you rather be given money to help your sort your own life out, or for some charity to use the money for 'what's best for you'. I know what I'd want. A problem is that people are often not free - due to family or social pressures or even plain violence (e.g. domestic) - to decide how to use money.

cwp 14y ago

I regret that I have but one upvote to give. It's a little depressing to see how much of any discussion of charity is centered around "what if they use it for something pleasurable instead of investing it?"