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Wealth & Money Quote by Evita Peron

"Charity separates the rich from the poor; aid raises the needy and sets him on the same level with the rich"

About this Quote

Evita Peron draws a bright, strategic line between noblesse oblige and redistribution, and she does it with the cool assurance of someone who understood politics as theater with real stakes. “Charity” is framed as a social solvent that never quite dissolves hierarchy: it requires a giver and a receiver, a stage and an audience, gratitude as a kind of tax. The rich remain rich not only in money but in moral prestige, while the poor are cast as permanent supplicants. In that sense, charity doesn’t bridge inequality; it choreographs it.

“Aid,” by contrast, is pitched as an equalizer, not a handout. The verb choice matters: it “raises” and “sets,” implying structure, policy, and state capacity rather than private mercy. The needy person is “him,” a telling, paternalistic universal that signals Peronism’s signature posture: protective, intimate, and commanding. It’s solidarity, but administered from above.

Context sharpens the message. Mid-century Argentina was defined by volatile class conflict, rapid urbanization, and a Peronist project that sought legitimacy through labor rights, social welfare, and the symbolic embrace of the descamisados. Peron’s own Eva Peron Foundation became famous for direct material relief, but also for its careful branding: gifts as proof of a new social contract. The subtext is a rebuke to elite philanthropy and the Church’s traditional role as intermediary. She’s not just arguing for helping the poor; she’s insisting on changing who gets to look virtuous while doing it.

Quote Details

TopicEquality
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Peron, Evita. (2026, January 17). Charity separates the rich from the poor; aid raises the needy and sets him on the same level with the rich. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/charity-separates-the-rich-from-the-poor-aid-59957/

Chicago Style
Peron, Evita. "Charity separates the rich from the poor; aid raises the needy and sets him on the same level with the rich." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/charity-separates-the-rich-from-the-poor-aid-59957/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Charity separates the rich from the poor; aid raises the needy and sets him on the same level with the rich." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/charity-separates-the-rich-from-the-poor-aid-59957/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

Evita Peron

Evita Peron (May 7, 1919 - July 26, 1952) was a Statesman from Argentina.

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