The Two Faces of Charity

Volunteers prepare meals for food banks on the floor of the Bell Centre in Montreal on May 5, 2020. The Canadian Press/Ryan Remiorz

Commentary

Charity is one of humankind’s greatest virtues and a key marker of successful civilizations. As tribes turned into cities and cities into nations, charity shifted away from the intimacy of personal sacrifice and became institutionalized along with other primary functions of advanced civilizations.