Britain is traditionally known for having an upper-middle-working class system, but during the two World Wars everyone worked side-by-side in a common cause, resulting in the twentieth century seeing the rise of equality as a basic aspiration.

Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) mused on the idea of social and economic equality as far back as 1516 in his book ‘Utopia’ (a word he invented). His description of an island with free food and medical care, communal property, no poverty, crime or immorality seems far-fetched, but a few of his more realistic ideals, such as religious tolerance and equal education for boys and girls, do now exist in the UK.  Although there are groups who campaign for increasingly extreme, nonsensical positions, the UK supports equal opportunities for women, minority faiths, minority ethnicities, minority sexualities, those with special educational needs, the disabled, etc..

Indeed, the desire for a fair society can be seen in a host of laws implementing policies in favour of equality and against various types of discrimination, with the Equality & Human Rights Commission giving assistance where requested. However, in an advanced, long-established capitalist economy like the UK’s, there are other factors at play. ‘Common sense equality’ could best describe our inclination.

(Image: pxfuel.com / CC0)

Charities are big business in the UK today, with over 186,500 of them registered with the three national charity regulators and around two-thirds of all adults making regular and/or one-off donations of money and goods. This makes the UK one of the most generous countries in the world in terms of donating to charity.

The concept of giving aid to the poor and needy is one that can be seen in centuries-old documents, literature and institutional constitutions. The oldest charity still surviving is King’s School, Canterbury, established in 597. Indeed, many schools and universities are able to claim ‘exempt’ charitable status because they provide a public service. Cardiff University is in the top ten of funds raised. There are tax reliefs that apply to charities, making registration a vital method of adding revenue.

Some of the most popular charities are those that deal with health, such as the British Heart Foundation. Animal welfare charities also attract many donors, as do those caring for our heritage and environment, such as the National Trust. Foreign aid attracts around a quarter of UK fund-raising. Awareness is engendered by subsidised media and print advertising, using carefully selected images and straplines designed to pull at the heart-strings.

(Image [cropped]: Howard Lake at Flickr.com / CC BY-SA 2.0)