https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/30/as-a-ukrainian-journalist-ive-covered-the-us-for-20-years-i-find-it-increasingly-shocking
This article mentions something I've been feeling for quite a long time: the very *existence* of a charity suggests the failure of government to do something important.
I initially had this thought due to food banks. It's absolutely horrifying that we should ever need a food bank to exist. But then later I realised that the same applies to charities for cancer hospice support, domestic violence shelters... These are all functions that are important and necessary, but provided piecemeal because it's left to depend on individuals being generous and choosing what "deserves" their generosity.
It's not that I think in practice it's feasible for the state to take over everything that charities do, the world is imperfect, government moves slowly, and there will probably always be some gaps. But a charity is not the way the world *should* be, it is a signpost pointing towards something the nation or the world could be doing better.
