All of jvanhaaften's Comments + Replies

I thought this was a really great post! I think giving because “it is the right thing to do” works in the short run but not in the long run.

I firmly believe that there is no such thing as true altruism ( to act in selflessness and disinterest).

If you will, allow an assumption inspired by neoclassical economic theory that rational people act in their own self interest. Well, if I am rational (as I would like to believe) then I would not give unless it benefits me in some way. And I would also not trust someone who tells me they give selflessly because that... (read more)

2[anonymous]6y
Thank you! No, I will not :P (not for me anyway; you are of course perfectly welcome to disagree). I weakly think that we can have genuinely selfless goals, and also that no one's behaviour is entirely driven by such goals. So I do agree that finding self-interest in giving is extremely important.