Generosity is a disguised mode of destruction and appropriation

Evidence

When Jesus told the wealthy young man, “Give your riches to the poor,” what apparently mattered to him were not the poor, but rather the soul of the wealthy man for whose salvation this sacrifice was merely a means or symbol. Later on, Christian alms retained the same character; they represent no more than a form of asceticism, of “good works,” which improve the chances of salvation of the giver. The rise of begging in the Middle Ages, the senseless distribution of alms, the demoralization of the proletariat through arbitrary donations which tend to undermine all creative work, all these phenomena constitute the revenge, so to speak, that alms take for the purely subjectivistic motive of their concession—a motive which concerns only the giver but not the recipient. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 409 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Tolerance expresses these denials directly. Acknowledging begrudged presence as desire of willed absence. The refusal of equality – of standing, of access, of outcome – in the name of an ecumenical largesse, a hostile generosity. — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 835 (#expands, via linked claim)

The alleviation of personal need is emotionally so categorical an end-in-itself, that to deprive it of this ultimate purpose and to convert it into a mere technique for the transsubjective ends of a social unit constitutes a significant triumph for the latter. This distantiation between the individual and the social unit—despite its lack of visibility—is more fundamental and radical in its abstractness and coldness than sacrifices of the individual for the collectivity in which the means and the ends tend to be bound together by a chain of sentiments. — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 413 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Instrumentalizing charity alienates individuals more radically than explicit communal sacrifice does — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 413; Tolerance reframes denied equality as begrudged generosity — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 835; Giver-centered charity derails the recipient’s interests and even harms them — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 409 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Giver-centered charity derails the recipient’s interests and even harms them #corroborates (0.85) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 409
• Tolerance reframes denied equality as begrudged generosity #expands (0.80) — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 835
• Instrumentalizing charity alienates individuals more radically than explicit communal sacrifice does #expands (0.78) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 413
• Generosity presupposes original plenitude; dialectical lack undercuts the power to give. #complicates (0.78) — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 688
• Altruism can be weaponized purely to offend a third party #exemplifies (0.72)
• Consumer conformity in culture industry is exploitation dressed as humanitarianism #exemplifies (0.72)