Charity is based on the sentiment of 'pity' and, as the philosopher David Hume noted, pity is akin to contempt. Private charity as a central feature of social policy may satisfy libertarians, but it profoundly offends the central idea of republican freedom, that of non-domination. Being dependent on the good will of offers is not consistent with full freedom On the contrary, it compromises the freedom of the giver as well as the supplicant.

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The fact that so many people in modern society are going to food banks and shelters demonstrates social policy failure. Private philanthropy should be marginalize again; it is an undemocratic way of shaping society and the selective well-being of individuals, groups and communities.