The influence of the ideas about human nature on attitudes towards charity in conservatism

Abstract

This article analyzes approaches to the problem of charity and human nature that have developed within conservative political philosophy. The study analyses the philosophical and religious ideas which constituted the foundation for the categories, conceptions and key values of conservatism. An overview of the historical context and organizational principles in philanthropy is also provided. The study is based on texts by representatives of conservative political philosophy of the 19th–20th centuries, analysis of charitable practices, and analysis of institutions in the field of social policy. Conservative political philosophy generally encourages charity, but due to the different perceptions of human nature within conservatism, divergences arise between thinkers who can be divided into liberal conservatives and paternalists. The first group of contradictions is related to the perception of the personality of the recipient of assistance. Liberal conservatism most often relies on Protestant arguments and perceives poverty as a problem that requires a solution and associates it with character defects. Paternalistic conservatism retained the idea of an “economy of salvation” from Catholicism, when the poor repaid the rich with prayers for help, and saw poverty as a form of social service and, therefore, an option for the complete development of the individual. The second group of contradictions is related to the perception of the personality of the benefactor. According to the paternalistic interpretation, charity is considered a targeted service and a means for consolidating hierarchical relationships. In liberal conservatism, attention is paid to the problem of human propensity for evil, and, consequently, to the question of organizing charity through mechanisms that would minimize arbitrariness. Both approaches are primarily concerned with the protection of order and property, and differ both from liberalism, which speaks of freedom of contractual relations between autonomous individuals, and from socialism, which expects that changes in property ownership will change the human nature and eliminate the need for private charity.