Altruism

The gift of sharing and helping one’s fellow human is something that has existed as long as humans have, and some argue even longer. These unselfish acts are known as “altruism” and are a trait evolved into many creatures, including homo sapiens. Altruism is thought to have been evolved as a form of looking out for the greater good of a community or group. An example being a fowl making a loud noise when it spots a predator. Even though this fowl puts itself in more danger, it still alerts the other fowls in the process to help them avoid danger. The reason for this is as simple as the fowl does this because it’s been bred and evolved to alert it’s brethren in hopes of having the favor return. The comparison to this and humans and goodwill should be drawn here, for even though the example given has little to do with a post gatherer-hunter society, it still is an example of good will expressed for the sake of the greater good. It is a great quality evolved into creatures because it helps insure survival for a length of time.

It’s in every human’s best interest to share and give as much as they can on behalf of the community. While this shouldn’t be forced onto humans through a series of taxes encouraged by greed and envy, it should be encouraged for one person to go out of their way to help another. The reason is simple, if person a lends his or her shirt to person b, hopefully person b would do the same for person a when person a is in the same predicament person b was in prior to this. It’s in everyone’s best interest to give as much as one can out of his or her own volition, it also can’t be stressed enough to give to one who can’t give back due to their lack of resources. The reason for this is just as simple, for just as person a gives their shirt to person b in hopes of getting something in return if they were in the same situation, so should person a give just as willingly to person c in the chance that person b sees it and is willing to do the same for person a in case he or she found themselves in said situation.

Though people should give and to an extent expect back in one way or another, it should not be taken too far. One should not give simply to use it as an excuse to get back later. Not all people are capable of giving, so it’s not in the best interest of anyone to expect someone in this situation to give or to force them to give through a series of taxes, i.e. state sales taxes or city sales taxes, in order to fund a false greater good. It is for the reason of altruism that people should pay less taxes, as to free them up to help them manage their supplies better and to give the less fortunate who pay taxes a break. There will always be people who take advantage of the altruistic will of humans, but these people should not be punished or mocked, though they should be led by example. It’s not in the place of anyone to force another to pay for their own misfortune no matter the circumstance.

Without self restraint, altruism will fail. While people should be entitled to buy things of luxury as much as their income allows, they shouldn’t go so far as to solely spend their income on luxuries and their own necessities while ignoring the greater good. Many people in a socialist society do such a thing, as they do in a society bogged down with many socialist programs. Without the feel or need for self discipline with one’s finances, a person would be more interested in looking out for themselves instead of participating in the act of goodwill and humanity. With too many taxes for people to pay, this is expected because a person is going to be more inclined to lookout for themselves above the community because they usually don’t see anything outside the realm of themselves and taxes. Likewise, this same person is likely to complain about paying the taxes and use it as an excuse for not participating in altruism. For this reason all people need to be free to do as they please with their income and pay less taxes, to encourage and learn what good will is and learn better self restraint and responsibility. For it’s only in a society that learns from mistakes as opposed to the society that gets bailed out will it succeed. Through self restraint, self discipline, and learning can a society prosper and develop into a better tomorrow.