I Just Wanna Give.

I like your ramblings, particularly this:

Its about doing something, anything, be it big or small, that keeps someone else going. Living. Existing. Its about keeping people where the light is. It doesn't need to be a million miles away.

This is so true! More people should look at what they can do in their own community. I have been working on an interview with a friend of mine who, with her sister, mentors teenage girls from their church.

The small things that you do can potentially have a huge impact on your community. If you can't think of anything to do local papers sometimes list volunteer activities.

Nicely done Acrone!

Mary picked the exact thing I was going to speak to. What you want is the best thing anybody can do for their fellow earthlings. A noble endeavor indeed!

Thanks for sharing.

A very nice, touching piece you have written here. The wonderful thing about this, for me, is not just the desire to help, but the fact that you've come to the realization that there's something bigger to do in your world. You say you've known this for a while but just realized it... an epiphanic event worth noting. So, what is it that you'll do? How will you start this newly realized and rejuvinated self?

This is a very cool thing to do (although I don't believe in altruism), but this is still talk. I guess I'm wondering what your intentions are to do.

That's the ticket, right there. I really enjoy it when people get out of the blogoshpere and start acting. Thanks for helping the Red Cross. They are an incredible organization and need all the help they can get.

Although my I am studying my degree in Philosophy and Psychology I hope to do something along the aid line, wherever possible

. The world needs more philosopher's to start acting and do less talking. Good for you!

would be completely hypocritical if I just posted about doing it without actually doing it. .

Well put

You know, just for a fact, you don't have to do anything with clear intentions of helping another to be actually helping them.

There's a basic economic concept thought by Adam Smith that says that ones success benefits it's neighbors. A lot of people think this is one of the reasons capitalism works.

I believe that this also works socially and on another levels.

If I get benefit from something, so will everyone around me.

So I say, always think about yourself first, then others.

I'm not taking credit away in any way from volunteer work, I value it a lot. This is just an interesting side note that in my view fits the conversation.

Artur writes: "So I say, always think about yourself first, then others."

Are you speaking of the "invisible hand" Artur?

Yes I am! :)

That's the famous metaphor that he used for the phenomenon.

Is that all common cultural knowledge or do you have some formation in economics?

No, it's not cultural knowledge, I don't think. And, no, I don't have a background in economics. I do think, however, that Adams' logic was good for the time, but not now. His idea causes a problem with "free-riding" and benefit. For example, if I contribute X percent of effort to fight global warming, for example, my efforts may go unnoticed by everyone else because everyone else isn't giving an equal percentage of effort. So, if the intention is to use, I don't know, 20% less electricity, which myself and five surrounding houses do, Billy-Bob, down the street decides to continue his normal usage and then he benefits from our actions. So, I guess I would want to know how free-riding is a good.

Your efforts are there, even if they are minimal. And they don't just benefit you, but everybody else too. Less energy consumption is less energy consumption. And there can be more causes. Imagine that you have one of those nosy neighbors that like do meddle with others. No imagine that when hearing that you are saving energy, he will save 30%. That's more of a socially view of the event. But the theory itself wasn't conceived on that terms. It was based on people's natural instinct of profit, of always do much more for instant, personal reward. Quick example: If I make profit of something, I will create capital. If I want more capital, I will invest the capital I've earned. Another example is taxes. If I earn more, the government will have more money.

I see where you're going with this, or rather, where Smith was going with this. However, it seems to me that paying taxes is the governments way of avoiding a free-riding society. Doesn't the government enforce tax laws so they can pay for the things we would normally reject if we had to donate the money?

I think this is more my point of view than Smith's. He had more macroeconomic views.

Taxes are often mistreated. People forget that they are compensated in many social politics like free education, social security, roads and etc. So I don't see it as enforced, it's really more of a civil obligation. If you avoid the taxes, you get penalised. So in way, I believe it does avoid free-riders.

Just in a related thought, if you got to jail because of being a non-tax payer you would still be a free-rider. A more expensive one, jailing someone is rather expensive. And while in jail, he will probably produce even less. So in way, something negative that you do will also have it's affect on people around you.