The Rationality of Altruism
I’d like to think that humans are inherently good. We strive to do the best for ourselves, and we feel a sense of satisfaction and happiness when we help other people. We are, after all, social creatures who depend on a sense of community in order to add value and contribute to the overall “common good” of the community. When individuals prosper, collectively the community can prosper as well, and this motivation propels many individuals to seek the best in themselves and others. I believe this to be true in both a professional work setting, as well as in a family and friends setting.
Altruism is defined as the “unselfish concern for people.” This can be simply helping a stranger with a simple task without expecting anything in return… returning a lost wallet, holding the door open for someone, or providing directions to someone who is lost. In these examples, a person is simply lending their time and attention, whereas other altruistic endeavours may involve the exchange of money or goods, such as donating to a local charity or donating used clothing and household goods. The writers at VeryWellMind have listed a number of examples of altruism, which include:
Doing something to help another person with no expectation of reward
Forgoing things that may bring personal benefits if they create costs for others
Helping someone despite personal costs or risks
Sharing resources even in the face of scarcity
Showing concern for someone else’s well-being
Now let’s expand on altruism and look at a concept referred to as “effective altruism.” Effective altruism (or EA) is defined as a philosophy where a person donates their time and/or resources in the most efficient manner for the greater good throughout their life, whether it’s professionally or recreationally. This typically takes the form of charitable donations where the selection of charity will depend on the donor’s rationale for most effective charity that helps the most people. In other words, these “rationale do-gooders” may decide that charity A provides the most benefit for every given dollar donated, and has the greatest outreach over charities B and C. Certainly, charitable causes are chosen for various reasons, namely ones that perhaps hit closer to home or target a cause that a person may have a more personal attachment towards.
There really is no wrong decision when it comes to volunteering your time and resources, but some may argue that this may be done in better ways than others. The way to measure this is subjective in a lot of ways, but an “effective altruistic” approach may be an additional criterion used to rank the best way to donate one’s time and resources. This ranked list will look different for many people because of the subjectivity involved, but using an altruistic approach may help someone make a final selection on where best to focus their time and resources.
There seems to be an effective altruistic movement around the world over the last decade, specifically amongst wealthier individuals. These movements often take the form of “pledges” where an individual will commit to donating a percentage of their salary or net worth every year to an effective altruistic cause of their choice, or simply to an organization that will use an effective altruistic approach to donate on their behalf. The folks at EffectiveAltruism.org have been leading the efforts in this area over the last decade, and their website provides ample resources about teaching effective altruism, how and where to donate and become a part of this endeavour, as well as connecting with the global effective altruism community.
Similar to the aim of Global Shapers community in Edmonton and around the world, the EA methodology aims to help people in the most resource effective manner, both at a local and international level. It doesn’t matter what one’s wealth level is to act in an effective altruistic manner, nor does it matter what your social status is, or any other status label for that matter. We all make countless decisions every day, and try to apply rationality in order to ensure that these decisions are effective. Why not use the same mindset when it comes to altruistic choices?
Alex Nemeth
