In this, the season of good deeds and good thoughts, what greater act of charity can there be than to allow someone to think that they have been generous, when in actual fact it was you who had been giving? Or is it? Is it really charitable to allow someone to take the credit and amplify their sense of self-worth though they have done nothing especially generous? Might it not prevent them from seeking out causes to support and charitable acts to perform?
These questions come to mind on account of the charity of a five-star hotel in Dubai, which is donating a percentage of the price of every iftar meal to three charities. All well and good you might think, what’s the problem? The ethical dilemma arises in the way the hotel makes the donation. It gives Dh 10 from the price of each meal to the diner who bought it and asks them to pick one of the three charities. This probably leaves the diner with the illusion that they had been generous when in fact it was the hotel that had shaved a bit off its profits. In charity, as in life, mindfulness is all.
