Altruism is most successful when the need to help is removed, not sustained!

 

“Altruism, if successful, would defeat its own purpose. This paradox has a psychological counterpart in what is often called the ‘culture of dependency’. This is any situation where there is a helping relationship and where the dynamic of aid leads to a situation where either party, or both, in the relationship comes to depend on its continuation. It is most evident in situations where people come to rely on voluntary or state aid, but it can also work the other way around: carers can come to need those they care for in order to give them a role or a sense of importance or value. When this happens, the carers – contrary to their explicit intentions – actually don’t want those they help to become independent. This is clearly a pathological state of affairs and though its extent should not be exaggerated, it is not unusual. It does, however, vividly illustrate how seeing altruism as the source of life’s meaning can distort our vision of what life should be and make us lose sight of the fact that altruism is most successful when the need to help is removed, not sustained.”