Introduction: Is There a ‘Logic of Charity’?

Abstract

Despite charity being a consistent feature of life in the UK, we lack a clear understanding of what charity is, how it operates, who it benefits and what it can and cannot be expected to do. We begin by summarizing the different organizing principles found in government and charity, and note that the logic guiding charitable activity is not well understood by politicians who seek to encourage charity and harness it in support of their political programmes. The historic role and contemporary nature of charity are reviewed, then a discussion of data on public attitudes regarding the role that charity does and should play in relation to government funding highlights how those attitudes have endured and changed over the past 25 years.