Public responses to the global health emergency caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 lay bare the realities highlighted and the findings underscored in this work. Security is not primarily about the protection of territory. Security is first about attention to basic health and educational needs. Basic social welfare is the primary security need for many hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Welfare without the state is not possible; the state must be involved centrally in the provision of public welfare, especially in countries with human security as poor as Pakistan where even the most basic attention can be lifesaving. But even in high-income countries, good governance is imperative for public security. At the same time, this core duty of government, to provide everyday security, cannot be achieved by government alone, even with well-designed state institutions. Welfare without the private charitable sector is impossible. Without strong relationships between government and nongovernmental organizations, including religious charities, and especially the charitable associations that are at the front lines in the provision of everyday human security, public action in the absence of government policy can only be anemic.