“The rise of democracy was driven by the citizens' desire to escape from the paternalistic and arbitrary charity of those with money. They accomplished this by replacing charity with a fair, balanced, arm's-length system of public obligation. The principle tool of that obligation was taxation.”

— John Ralston Saul

Reflections of a Siamese Twin (1997)

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John Ralston Saul 85

Canadian author and essayist 1947

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“Indeed you can usually tell when the concepts of democracy and citizenship are weakening. There is an increase in the role of charity and in the worship of volunteerism. These represent the élite citizen's imitation of noblesse oblige; that is, of pretending to be aristocrats or oligarchs, as opposed to being citizens.”

John Ralston Saul (1947) Canadian author and essayist

Reflections of a Siamese Twin (1997)

“We are obligated to be more scrupulous in fulfilling the commandment of charity than any other positive commandment because charity is the sign of a righteous man.”

Maimónides (1138–1204) rabbi, physician, philosopher

As quoted in A Maimonides Reader (1972) by Isadore Twersky, p. 135. A footnote on this page states : tzedekah is translated as both "righteousness" and "charity".

“Of the many special obligations incumbent upon an educated citizen, I would cite three as outstanding: your obligation to the pursuit of learning, your obligation to serve the public, your obligation to uphold the law.”

John F. Kennedy (1917–1963) 35th president of the United States of America

1963, Address at Vanderbilt University
Context: You have responsibilities, in short, to use your talents for the benefit of the society which helped develop those talents. You must decide, as Goethe put it, whether you will be an anvil or a hammer, whether you will give to the world in which you were reared and educated the broadest possible benefits of that education. Of the many special obligations incumbent upon an educated citizen, I would cite three as outstanding: your obligation to the pursuit of learning, your obligation to serve the public, your obligation to uphold the law.

“On the other hand, Allah directs man to the spiritual purity through the act of giving that is represented by charity that the pious pays as "Zakat" and "Sadakat" almsgiving, and other financial obligations.”

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“The details of wasted money spent on the Garden Bridge project is the final confirmation of the utter folly of the project. The Garden Bridge Trust have squandered public money in a way no responsible charity should have behaved. No charity needs to spend £160,000 on a website or over £400,000 on a gala dinner.”

Caroline Pidgeon (1972) British politician

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“As a slave one cannot undertake obligations without the consent of one’s master. As a citizen one cannot undertake obligations unless the legal system of the State in which one holds citizenship permits one to do so. Neither a slave nor a citizen is a free person, although those who are held as slaves or citizens may well be free persons: it is just that their freedom is not respected.”

Frank Van Dun (1947) Belgian law philosopher

The Perfect Law of Freedom (2004).

“We have the right as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right to appropriate a dollar of the public money.”

Davy Crockett (1786–1836) American politician

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“A democratic government is the only one in which those who vote for a tax can escape the obligation to pay it.”

Alexis De Tocqueville book Democracy in America

Source: Democracy in America, Volume I (1835), Chapter X-XIV, Chapter XIII.

“People cannot escape from the obligation of a statute by putting a private interpretation upon its language.”

Edward Macnaghten, Baron Macnaghten (1830–1913) Anglo-Irish rower, barrister, politician and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary

Netherseal Colliery Co. v. Bourne (1889), L. R. 16 Ap. Ca. 247.

“Certain characteristics must exist for a democracy to survive. First, laws must be constructed in fairness and equality; and second, obedience of law by the citizens, and those who judge and enforce them; without strict adherence to these principles, democracies fail.

1994”

Gandolfo – (RJ Intindola)

“The rise of democracy was driven by the citizens' desire to escape from the paternalistic and arbitrary charity of those with money. They accomplished this by replacing charity with a fair, balanced, arm's-length system of public obligation. The principle tool of that obligation was taxation.”

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John Ralston Saul 85

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