I recently watched a video in which philosopher Slavoj Zizek argues that giving to charities can actually prolong problems and that social change is more important.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpAMbpQ8J7g

What are your thoughts on this?

Jeff Kaufman has a good response.

I agree with Kaufman, and if you think, personally, "Should I give to charity?" it is a lot more likely you will do some amount of good by donating than inciting major social change.

Minor changes to a current system might be more effective anyway, such as passing laws or altering funding.

Another response: http://giordano-bruno-stiftung.ch/blog/ ... rity-what/