Cutting aid to fund defence won’t help us build a better world

In light of President Trump’s proposed peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced cuts to foreign aid in order to boost defence spending. But ignoring the plight of the poor is a zero-sum game, says George Pitcher. Just look at the biblical story of the rich man and Lazarus

There’s a story, as old as the Judean hills, of a very rich man who wears the finest linen suits but who ignores a beggar called Lazarus at his fancy gates. Poor Lazarus has a miserable life; “even the dogs came and licked his sores” (Luke 16:19-31).

Both men die and Lazarus is taken by angels into the bosom of Abraham, while the oligarch resides in hellish torment. He cries out to Abraham, begging him to send Lazarus to comfort him. But Abraham replies that Lazarus was tormented while the rich man lived it up and now their roles are reversed. And, anyway, the gulf between them is too great to bridge.