Altruism, a “Blessing or a Curse”

Throughout a large portion of human history, the practice of “altruism” (as defined by Webster as: (unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others,) has existed in a good portion of the human race and has, in the majority of cases, been considered as being “Good”.

When performed freely, on an individual, or even a group basis, the practice may well have contributed to the survival of the human species. However, when supposed altruism is used as a means of acquiring power by some individuals over others, its “goodness” certainly needs to come under question.

There are, today, and always have been, individuals and groups that have sought to put themselves in positions of power in order to tell other humans what they can, can’t and must do. When such individuals or groups seek power in order to implement an idea, the validity of the idea will, in the majority of cases, determine whether such concentration of power benefits or harms those subject to it.

The seeking of power in order to overturn the power of the British Royalty and establish the American system of individual freedom, certainly was, and still is, of benefit to America’s citizens, and to the world in general. Certainly the “giving” of money” by Americans in the eighteenth century to assist that cause was an example of altruism being used for a “Good” purpose and represented a “Blessing” as such.

A perfect example of “altruism” being used totally to grasp and hold significant power over others can be seen by examining what was done by Lyndon Johnson’s so called “Great Society”. That was the program initiated by Johnson in 1964 that used taxpayer money to supposedly “help support” those citizens experiencing economic difficulty. However, the “Great Society” was NEVER intended by Johnson to “help” the recipients of the taxpayer’s money but rather to “control” their voting in which he certainly succeeded. The “altruism” of Johnson’s government “donating” our money to that supposed “cause”, certainly represented a “Curse”.

As such, whenever one is asked to “be altruistic”, it is always wise to demand to know, “To what end?”