Trump's Taxes and Virtue (or Vice)

When studying semiotics -- signs and how they are interpreted -- it is important to be on the lookout for the zero. That is, what can be learn by asking what is not there that we might expect would usually he there. In this case, my question in this entry is why is there so little evidence of charity in the reporting on Donald Trump's tax returns in the New York Times. In particular, I would like to write about virtue in the three great monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and, then, to say a word or two about charity.

 

There are many places to start when talking about virtue, but let me begin with Plato and Aristotle. Plato talked about ARETE or virtue. This word originally meant excellence, but he used the word to mean moral excellence. For Plato, like others in ancient Athens, the goal of life was EUDAIMONIA or happiness and ARETE or virtue was the means to achieve that goal. Although I must say that it is difficult, if not impossible, to find a passage in Plato's dialogues that states this directly. Aristotle built on this idea in the Nichomachean Ethics (and elsewhere). For Aristotle developing excellence of character ARETE, or virtue, is a practical skill developed through conscious choice and habit. This deliberate behavior leads to the ultimate goal PRAXIS or excellent conduct. Aristotle identified four cardinal virtues: PHRONESIS or practical wisdom (a difficult concept to grasp), temperance/self-control/moderation, courage, and justice. He also talks about magnaminty, friendship, and KALOS KAGATHOS or being a gentleman, among other ideas.

I do not want to give a history of virtue, so I will skip ahead to Christian concepts of virtue as I move toward the issue of how all this relates to public knowledge of Donald Trump's tax returns. One important list of virtues is found in the Pauline epistles, specifically the letter to the Galations. Here Paul writes "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Some see love as a synonym for charity, but charity becomes one of the explicitly Christian virtues as one of the cardinal virtues in the middle ages. The seven virtues became identified as chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility. Practicing them is said to protect one against temptation from the seven deadly sins. According to the standard list, the seven deadly sins are pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. (Writers in the Middle Ages did love symmetry, having both seven sins and seven virtues.)

So, now we have charity as an explicit virtue within the Christian tradition. Charity is one translation of the Greek AGAPE, the other being love. The standard understanding of charity is that it has two parts: love of God and love of man, which includes both love of one's neighbor and one's self.

Having looked at how charity is part of the Christian tradition, let me change topics slightly and talk about how this relates to the Islamic tradition as I move toward my conclusion about charity and Donald Trump's taxes.

The most basic acts of Islam are often called the Five Pillars. They are SHAHADA or declaration of one's faith,  SALAT or prayer, ZAKAT or charity, SAWM or fasting, and HAJJ or pilgrimage to Mecca. These pillars are found, not in the Quran, at least not in a clear list like this, but in the Hadith of Gabriel. I would like to focus on the fact that, like in Christinity, ZAKAT or charity is an act that one must do to be a good muslim. There are different approaches to ZAKAT in Sunni and Shi'a traditions, and there are some Muslim majority countries where government employees or programs explicitly collect and administer these monies (Libya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen) and others where it is voluntary. So traditions vary in the Islamic world, but the main point is that ZAKAT or charity is an important element of life in the Islamic tradition.

Let me switch topics from charity in the Islamic tradition to charity among the ultrawealthy. Two of the world's richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet (pictured above). Since at least 2010, Gates and Buffet have asked wealthy individuals to become a part of the Giving Pledge. The goal of the project is to inspire wealthy people to give at least half of their net worth by the time they die to philanthropy. One person who has not agreed to the giving pledge is Donald Trump.

 

Now, I believe I have returned to the topic of Donald Trump and tax returns. One thing that I noticed when reading the reporting that the New York Times has done on Donald Trump's taxes is that he has given almost nothing to charity. In fact, two years ago, the Donald J Trump foundation, supposedly a charitable organization, was shut down after the New York state attorney general alleged that there was "a shocking pattern of illegality" with respect to the foundation's money.

Let me end this blog entry with a few words of conclusion. Charity has been an important virtue within both the Christian and Islamic traditions for well over a thousand years. Yet, based on what the New York Times has found out about President Donald Trump's tax returns and finances, he has given almost nothing to charity while spending more than $70,000 on hair styling.