Economic and Social Justice?

So I have been having trouble lately with the concepts of charities. First, a little history. I went to Catholic school for something like thirteen years and all that time I thought the right thing to do was to give your money to the poor, not all your money of course but a goodly sum once you made enough. Then I had to go and read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I had been making decent money for a little while before reading the book and hadn't donated any of it yet, so you could say I already had issues with charities in my mind. I would say I just had engagement and marriage on my mind. After reading the book my ideas about charities went in the direction of my new economic view, which is to say "way right." All of a sudden I think "from each according to his ability and to each according to his need" is an evil saying and I start to wonder if we are providing a rewards system for bad habits. Have I been brainwashed? Are current social programs too short sighted? Do rich people only give money to charities if they feel guilty about having so much money? I don't have any answers. I feel like there must be some middle-ground, but then I think I am just being shoved back into a mindset forced on me by the norm of society and my Catholic upbringing.

First of all it would seem to stand to reason that in an economically free society, people can do whatever they want with their money, and thereby they could give them to charities if they wanted. Whether they should or not is a different question. So from this view you can say that at the very least, any sort of government social program is a bad idea since the people providing the money don't choose where their money goes. I know I know they choose by way of their representatives, but I think that's any easy out myself. This no government charities idea I think I can get behind easier. It's a radical view to be sure, but I really don't like the idea of government as a means to redistribute wealth and to me that's all this is. The next question is private charities. Should you give to them? Still not quite sure how I feel about this one but seems you can make an economic case for it, depending on the charity. Of course people don't usually try to make an economic case, they try to make a pity case, but that's back to the earlier discussion. If the charity is teaching people how to fish and you make fishing gear then it would seem to make sense for you to send a little money their way. That may be a simple case, but I think you can take it further and have it work. My high school religion teacher would shoot me after making that last point, and part of me does feel dead inside, but really that's a different issue isn't it?

If I don't want to pay for someone else's food or education or clothing, does that make me an uncaring elitist? a Social Darwinist? a bad person?

(hang on, switching gears)

This week is Sibling Week in the Dickey household. Should be interesting.