Title: BBC - Ethics - Charity: Arguments against charity
Headings: Arguments against charity
Arguments against charity
What's wrong with charity
Thinking too small
Charities often target symptoms, not causes
Charity may become a substitute for real justice
Failing to change society
Charity may not provide the best solution to a problem
Charity may benefit the state rather than the needy
Technicalities of giving
Charity may lead to favouritism, not fairness
The relationship between charity and the tax system can do harm
Our charitable giving is often inefficient
What charities do with their funds
Charities may not make best use of their funds
Charities are often accountable to the givers not the receivers
Is it ethical to give with strings attached?
Fundraising

Content: Instead, I want it to be conducted by government. Rather than have the wealthy donate to charities, income and other taxes should generate the revenue to fund the services in question. Neil Levy, Against Philanthropy
Another, and related, argument is that charities depend on the desires and incomes of unaccountable donors while the work of governments is subject, in many cases, to regular democratic or political review, and is thus more subject to public scrutiny and control. In fact, in many areas of essential services in the developed world, the government is by far the biggest spender, and charity spending is a small share and so won't make a significant difference to government commitments. Incidentally, if you go back a century or two, you'll discover that many of the essential services we now expect governments to provide were provided by charities or not at all. As the role of government increased, charities took on the role of supplementing the government spend, rather than provide the basic service. Top
Technicalities of giving
Charity may lead to favouritism, not fairness
The interests of all persons ought to count equally, and geographic location and citizenship make no intrinsic difference to the rights and obligations of individuals. Peter Singer
Donors, not unreasonably, choose to give to causes that appeal to them. But these are not necessarily the causes where there is the greatest need. This quotation from a US anti-hunger campaigner provides an example.