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Philanthropy does more harm than good

Oscar Wilde lived in an age of very visible social injustice, and in an age of very visible philanthropy. Yet his judgement was brutal: “charity degrades and demoralises...in the present state of things in England, the people who do most harm are the people who try to do most good.”

The US currently gives $300 billion to charitable causes every year; about 1.7% of its GDP. That is more than twice as generous as the next most charitable countries, the UK and Canada, who give about half a pence for every pound earned. However, American generosity has to be seen in the context of lower taxes, a much less cossetting welfare state and less generous overseas development aid.

Europe has tended to substitute private giving for social-democratic tax and welfare models, and to view philanthropy as a symptom of 19th century social inequity. The new philanthropists, Bill Gates at their head, think that business thinking, technology and entrepreneurialism can solve problems that have been too tough for welfare states to crack.

If, led by the hard taskmaster of austerity, we are now invited in Europe to become more American in our giving, should we reject Oscar Wilde’s judgement?