The Virtue of Helping Poor People
To be called a humanitarian, or compassionate, is a matter of how much help can you give and what is the virtue of helping poor people? Are there any distinctions among those who are supposedly doing the best work in the world?
If someone has the virtue of helping poor people, what are their motivations for doing so? Do they want to help other people simply because they want to help themselves?
If someone has the virtue of helping poor people, then I am still suspicious. In some cases, the motivation might not be altruism, but a personal interest in maintaining the status quo. There is also a very dark side to such motives.
Many NGOs might seem to be “doing good” and to be their own worst enemies, rather than a heartless money-grubber. They allow themselves to be exploited, trapped by secrecy, ill-defined programs, and bloated executive offices.
Often, there is a contract between the host government and the NGOs, allowing them to operate inside the lines. That is a good thing, since it is not within the remit of the host government to expand its own resources, or to adopt more stringent policies. It seems the only reason these organizations are so popular is because they are international, and therefore international sanctions can be ignored.
What about the results of their work? I cannot help but wonder if their contracts are so beneficial to them that they abuse the people in the field, giving them little to do but attend corporate events and play with other NGO staff members. All the while, the host governments give the donors a larger budget and in return get lavish gifts, well-paid staff, and a choice between cheaper goods and better-quality ones.
They also appear to get away with misrepresenting their findings, failing to account for such things as poor health, or the absence of some kind of education, medical care, or training in order to give up a second-rate product. Some of the major funders of NGOs, and of course the host governments, seem to encourage this behavior.
As for the present governments, they seem to be happy to benefit from the work of NGOs because they are convinced that a reputation for being “ethical” will make them popular with voters. If there is little else to learn from the present governments, perhaps it is the virtue of charity and compassion that are essential for maintaining an empire.
There is a lot of talk about the current problems in the Global South, most of which is attributable to political and economic situations, rather than “natural” disasters or man-made disaster. Those of us in the West are far more likely to be struck by one of the many natural calamities (floods, earthquakes, cyclones, etc) than by a man-made one.
What’s the virtue of helping poor people? This may be more a question for those who see it as their job to help others rather than to create material wealth, and, of course, to the companies profiting from the work of these NGOs.
There is a good chance that the time has come for many of the countries in the Global South to declare their independence from the West, and we should do what we can to assist them. Many poor countries are feeling the pinch of global warming, and the better the world can live together, the better the future for these people.
Do you think the world’s problems could be solved if we all banded together, in a spirit of global goodwill, and began to change the ways of rich countries? For those who feel strongly about it, and have the wherewithal to put a considerable amount of money and effort into giving it to the poor, can we save our economies? The true test of the virtue of charity comes when the people receiving the gifts are truly poor.
