SECTION B
Essay
125 marks
A society that has more justice is a society that needs less charity.
WRITE IN
90 min
1,000–1,200 words
Reading the topic
The topic contrasts justice, which secures people's rights as a matter of entitlement, with charity, which depends on the goodwill of the giver. The deeper reading is that heavy reliance on charity signals structural injustice, and a just society builds rights and institutions so that dignity does not depend on donations.
ThesisCharity is a virtue but also a symptom: the more a society secures fair opportunities and rights through institutions, the less its people need to depend on the kindness of others.
Dimensions to cover
- 1Philosophy: justice is owed while charity is optional, so a right to food or work restores dignity in a way a gift cannot
- 2Constitution: the Directive Principles commit the state to minimise inequalities, framing welfare as duty rather than benevolence
- 3Economy: rights-based laws on employment, food and education convert charity into legal entitlements
- 4Corporate sector: mandatory CSR blurs the line, turning corporate giving into an obligation but not addressing unfair wages or tax avoidance
- 5Society: religious giving traditions such as langar and zakat sustain the poor but can coexist with caste or class structures that keep them poor
- 6Global: aid to poorer countries cannot substitute for fair trade rules, climate finance and debt relief
Counter-view
- Some argue that even the most just society will have misfortune, disability and disaster, so charity will always be needed. The essay should agree that compassion never becomes obsolete, but stress that the topic says 'less' charity, not none, and that justice reduces charity's burden from survival to solidarity
Open and close
- Open: Open with a long queue outside a free food stall after a factory closure, where donors are praised, and then ask why the workers' unpaid wages never made the news
- Close: Conclude that charity should be a society's grace, not its safety net, and that justice is what frees compassion to be voluntary again
Where marks usually go
- Condemning charity outright, which ignores its moral value and the topic's comparative wording of 'more' and 'less'
- Turning the essay into a list of welfare schemes without explaining the difference between entitlement and benevolence
- Treating justice narrowly as courts and criminal law instead of social and economic justice
Examples that fit
- ThinkerAmartya Sen distinguishes niti, the rules and institutions of justice, from nyaya, the actual lives people are able to lead, arguing that justice is judged by real outcomes.The Idea of Justice, Amartya Sen (2009)
- ThinkerJohn Rawls proposed that social inequalities are justified only if they benefit the least advantaged, making fairness a matter of institutional design rather than private generosity.A Theory of Justice, John Rawls (1971)
- CaseThe Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 made rural work a legal right, so wage employment is claimed rather than requested.Ministry of Rural Development, MGNREGA official site; MGNREG Act, 2005
- CaseSection 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 requires eligible companies to spend 2% of average net profits on CSR, an attempt to institutionalise corporate charity.Companies Act, 2013, Section 135; Ministry of Corporate Affairs
- ThinkerAndrew Carnegie argued that the rich should distribute their surplus wealth, a classic defence of philanthropy that critics say leaves unfair wealth creation unquestioned.The Gospel of Wealth, Andrew Carnegie (1889)