September 28, 2015 3:21PM 

# Private Philanthropy Promotes Human Wellbeing 

By [Chelsea Follett](https://www.cato.org/people/chelsea-follett) 

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In recognition of private philanthropy’s role in promoting human wellbeing, Human​Progress​.org has just added a new category of data: [charity](http://humanprogress.org/story/3184).

![Media Name: charitymap.png](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/wp-content/uploads/charitymap.png?itok=6-Y2YO3_) 

Most people agree that charity is a good thing, but laws may [restrict](http://www.hudson.org/research/11363-index-of-philanthropic-freedom-2015) or dis-incentivize philanthropic action. Higher tax rates, for example, may [negatively impact](http://www.alec.org/publications/2015charitablegiving/) charitable giving. State-run welfare may also discourage charity, replacing “a welfare system of mutual aid based on reciprocity to one of paternalistic dependency based on hierarchy,” as David T. Beito has [argued](http://fee.org/freeman/from-mutual-aid-to-the-welfare-state-by-david-t-beito/) in his book, [*From Mutual Aid to the Welfare State*](http://www.amazon.com/From-Mutual-Aid-Welfare-State/dp/0807848417).

In the United States, the structure of the welfare system may [contribute](https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/more-welfare-more-poverty) to generational cycles of hardship. Jo Kwong of the [Philanthropy Roundtable](http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/) eloquently [summarized](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzj8kPfWRt8) the situation, describing how private philanthropy can be used to help people escape generational cycles of poverty and welfare-dependency, and make their way in the free enterprise economy.

How charitable is your country? Explore [the data](http://humanprogress.org/story/3184).

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