Benevolent giving and the problem of paternalism

Abstract

In this chapter, Emma Saunders-Hastings argues that some attempts to promote welfare through charitable giving can be objectionably paternalistic, and explores what avoiding such paternalism would require. She defends a view according to which our moral reason to avoid paternalistic behaviour is grounded in the importance of social and political relations, which in turn require respect for autonomous agents. This respect is potentially compromised when donors act as if they are entitled to maximally pursue their own conception of the good. Saunders-Hastings argues that we should at least take account of the instrumental importance of these relations, e.g. their importance to welfare. If they have intrinsic importance, then they have to be balanced against the independent importance of promoting welfare.