Wikipedia (the source of all sources) suggests that altruism is the selfless concern for the welfare of others. Altruism focuses on a motivation to help others or a want to do good without reward. I disagree, and not just because I’m trying to rationalize my greed capitalist pig behavior, but because the whole idea is incomplete, and subsequently delusory.
When was the last time you helped an old lady carry her cans of cat food to her car for no reason at all? Maybe there was a cute member of the opposite sex watching, maybe the old lady was the heir to some great fortune and now her insolent grandchildren have just pissed her of the point of writing them out of her will. Now she needs someone nice to give her expansive mansion. The chances are small, but so is the cost of helping her. At any rate you can feel good about it when she smiles gratefully. Hey that’s a reward (even if she doesn’t give you a big shiny nickel for it). I like thinking of myself as a good person – it’s useful – it helps out with the old karma accounting. And, last week, when you bought your friend that double espresso, mocha, with sprinkles, and whip cream and suffered both the financial and emasculating setbacks, why did you do that? Could it be that a) it made you feel good b) your friend would probably buy you a beer later that night c) hey, you might need a good job reference sometime in the future. Regardless, it wasn’t for not.
Even Mother Thereasa wasn’t altruistic in the Wikipedia sense of the word. She was doing it because of the sweet kickbacks she was getting from God. But, hey – that’s what relationships are all about, give a little, take a little so that you help each other progress. In my mind, altruism is along the lines of comparative advantage – we all benefit by partaking.
By establishing that there is some value to our “good” deeds, we can begin to account for it when we evaluate our decisions. It is not hard to conclude that there are also negative consequences to “bad” deeds. So, I submit, that it is with this matrix that we can begin to delve into the ethical complex of businesses or further into the individuals that make the day-to-day decisions. The opportunity cost of doing someone a fovor is that, given the chance, they may not return the favor. Favors tend to accumulate and escalate, so you often ultimately get back more than you put in.
This may seem overtly cold and calculating to some who believe that you shouldn’t need a reason to do good (besides that disembodied all knowing consciousness in the sky), and it may seem overly idealistic and Disney-bookesque to others. Yet, its really neither, it’s a reason to do good, and this reason is worth recognizing because recognizing it ultimately leads to doing more good and that’s, err… good.
Tags: altruism, Ashleigh Williams, comparative advantage, doing good, Jonathan Williams, nice economics, opportunity costs
