Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Q&A: The Dark Side of Altruistism


Does the altruistic acts of a kind-hearted person with good intentions have unintended misgivings?  Suppose a caring individual sees a hungry homeless man on the streets.  In order to help this struggling man, the caring individual gives the man a sandwich so he won’t go hungry that day.  This simple act may have helped me today but what will he do for food the next day?  Will the same caring individual be there tomorrow with another sandwich?  Soon the man might become dependent upon others for food on a daily basis.  The homeless man will find no self-improvement as the caring individual continues to increase his happiness for ‘helping’ people. 

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