A recent article in Time points to a new trend in reality television: the power of private charity. For decades, classical liberals have argued that effective social insurance does not require government. Among the reasons they offer for this is that, historically, social assistance was provided voluntarily . . . and in spades. Private organizations, from churches to Friendly Societies, supported those in need. In the 19th century, voluntary giving was so high in some places that church leaders and others involved in the assistance community actually asked people to stop giving so much. Extreme generosity, they feared, was contributing to the problem more than reducing it.
In the 20th century, government usurped this responsibility, substituting mandatory “charity” for the voluntary giving that flourished in the century before. In addition to fostering a new attitude that it was someone else’s responsibility to help those in need, growing government expenditures around the same time, which meant growing taxes, made it more difficult for those who wanted to contribute individually to do so.
But the spirit of private generosity is difficult to crush. And a multitude of voluntary organizations continue to thrive today. As the Time aricle points out, the growing popularity of reality TV has created a new blend of private giving that ties profit making with humanitarian help. Shows like “Three Wishes” and “Extreme Home Makeover” find families in extreme need and donate time, talent, and incredible resources to try and make things a little bit better. The combination of heart-wrenching stories with uplifting endings makes for compelling television. That’s why sponsors and product providers are lining up to give to the show.
While these shows do a social good, not just by helping but also by telling viewers they have the power to help others, they portray a particular kind of social contract as well. There is a great deal of talk of community in the small-town neighborhood sense and almost none in the national sense. They emphasize recipients’ faith, their positivity, their unwillingness to blame others. Hardships are a result of fate, not cutbacks or social priorities. No one wonders why people in a rich nation forgo college or surgery. The solutions to problems are entirely private (in exchange for product placement) and local. It’s federalist TV.