Abstract

Humanitarian actors have firmly stated that they have moved on from charity since the 1960s. Instead, they have anchored their work in a notion of justice, rejecting religious differences and colonial ties. Their new focus was on the structural reforms to which the disadvantaged had a right. The analysis of the activities of the agencies which imported fair trade products from the 1960s until the 1980s demonstrates how the purported transition from charity to justice impacted humanitarian action. Despite being important to contemporaries, it does not provide a plausible historical account. Earlier ‘charitable’ initiatives did present a transformative impetus. Presuming a transition from charity to justice also fails to acknowledge the continued importance of charitable impulses among activists and their supporters. The changing interplay between charity and justice is crucial to understanding how social justice was defined within a transnational network of activists coming to terms with a postcolonial world.

摘要

人道主义行动者坚定地表示，自 1960 年代以来，他们已不再从事慈善事业。相反，他们将工作立足于正义理念，拒绝宗教差异和殖民关系。他们的新重点是弱势群体有权进行的结构性改革。对从 1960 年代到 1980 年代进口公平贸易产品的机构的活动的分析表明，所谓的从慈善到正义的过渡如何影响人道主义行动。尽管对同时代人很重要，但它并没有提供合理的历史记录。早期的“慈善”倡议确实带来了变革的动力。假设从慈善到正义的过渡也未能承认活动家及其支持者中慈善冲动的持续重要性。