September 15, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
Good Intentions: Moral Obstacles & Opportunities
edited by David H. Smith
Charitable giving keeps nonprofit groups afloat and helps provide services to millions of people in need. Yet some people believe that the needy are best served by reducing social and economic inequalities rather than by charities, writes David H. Smith in his introduction to this volume. Mr. Smith, a professor emeritus of religious studies at Indiana University, and 10 contributors debate this and other moral issues facing the philanthropic world.
Some of the essayists argue that the goal of philanthropy should be to help others achieve a better life, and that donors need to consider the effectiveness of their gifts in reducing suffering or achieving good.
Contributors also discuss dilemmas facing religious institutions, including whether synagogues should give preferential treatment to generous donors and whether Christians have special obligations to help fellow Christians.
Other essays compare the New Testament ideal of charity with today’s understanding of philanthropy, and explore the philanthropic examples of Booker T. Washington and Jane Addams.
The book concludes with discussions of the decreased autonomy of nonprofit organizations from government and how the public’s ambivalence toward government support for charitable organizations has hindered America’s ability to solve social problems.
Publisher: Indiana University Press, 601 North Morton Street, Bloomington, Ind. 47404; (800) 842-6796; fax (812) 855-7931; iuporder@indiana.edu; http://iupress.indiana.edu; 239 pages; $35; ISBN 0-253-34531-6.
