Why Charity?
The politics and ethics of charity

7th - 8th July 2014, University of Brighton

“From life-saving emergency responses to life-changing development projects and campaigning, our amazing supporters help make all this possible. There's more vital work to be done, so get involved today.”
Oxfam’s website.

"There comes a point where you need to not just pull people out of the river; you need to go upstream and find out who is pushing them in."
Jack, a mum and blogger who once relied on foodbanks, 2013.

Helping others in need through charitable giving and work is surely just obviously a good thing. If we see that someone is starving and we have some food going spare, then it seems self-evident that we ought to give it to them. Perhaps not: perhaps charity, insofar as it hacks at the branches of society’s problems and not its roots, is part of the disease, not the cure.

There are (at least) two central aspects of this debate, which might be termed ‘ethical’ and ‘political’. The first is about what we do as individuals; the second is about the role of charity as social institution. And of course, how these aspects connect and diverge is crucial and controversial. This conference aimed to think through the ethical and political issues of charity, and their interconnections, with people from diverse backgrounds: charity workers and recipients of charity as well as theoreticians on charity from a variety of academic disciplines.