[RANDOM MUSINGS] Altruism

Had a talk with dad over afternoon tea and this was the topic of discussion. These are all my personal opinions. There are many ways of looking at this topic so don't feel offended if your views are different from mine:)
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Altruism: the desire and act of helping others without expecting anything in return. Has the connotation of selfless help. 

Is there really altruism today? This sparked off a huge debate against positive psychology since decades ago. Till now there is no clear cut answer.

Positive psychology states that people are naturally good-willed. When we see others in distress, it is of our human nature to extend a helping hand to these people. When we see an old lady fall down, it is because of our altruistic nature to step forward and help her up. However many people beg to differ. Is our intentions that simple? Do we really expect nothing in return when helping others? Some psychologists attribute it to the social nature of human beings. For instance, some people may help the old lady simply to gain the recognition and acceptance from other people, such as gaining the applause from the public who watch you helping the old lady. Some may help hoping to reap some benefits from the old lady. Some may help to make themselves feel less guilty by gaining good karma. In such cases, does that mean that altruism do not exist? This seems to point to the possibility that every "act of kindness" has a reciprocal connotation attached to it, whereby people do not help simply for the sake of helping, but rather, to gain something out of it. It is quite sad that human beings are framed in such a negative light, isn't it? Whatever happened to all the teachings of being kind-hearted and pure?

Prior to the start of my internship, I was briefly introduced to the concept of social entrepreneurship. Social enterprises refer to companies who operate with the intention of solving a social problem. Examples include 18 chefs which is a cafe revolving around the aim of giving ex-convicts a second chance by re-integrating them into the society. Another good example is NTUC Foodfare, which provides affordable meals for the working adults and elderly to alleviate the effects of inflation. I was truly inspired by such intentions where aspirations to make the society a better place overtakes money as the top priority in setting up a company. This sparked off my curiosity which prompted me to research more on social enterprises.

However one thing dawned on me. If you have the passion but no money, how do you go about setting up a company? Indeed, there is a wide range of government organizations and self-help groups providing professional advice and financial help to social enterprises locally. Despite so, maintaining a company is no easy feat and compounded by the volatile nature of the market, social enterprises are prone to failure. There is only this amount of money, this amount of resources, this amount of energy. How are you going to sustain if your company doesn't perform? Given that social enterprises are different from charity organizations in that they are business in nature, they are typically self-sustainable. This means that the revenue earned from productive economic activities are channelled towards covering costs and dedicated to the resolution of social problems. One thing to ponder, if your company is not money-oriented and you don't have enough money for your company, your physiological needs is not met. How then are you going to go about helping others when you can't help myself? Indeed, money is an important barrier to consider. Nonetheless, I truly applaud the efforts of such social enterprises as they are great platforms in offering aid to those who have fallen into the creaks of the society. As the famous quote goes, "a little effort goes a long way". "No act of helping, no matter how small, is wasted" - Aesop. What goes around comes around. Start small, and you'll be surprised how your act of kindness can go a long way, be it making someone's day or bringing about social changes.

Cheers to the efforts of this group of people who are truly passionate about being change-makers, who sincerely want to improve the lives of the society. We may not be as skilled in cooking as Mr Benny Se-Teo to set up a restaurant (18chefs) to provide employment opportunities to ex-convicts, but we can show our support and acceptance towards them. We may not have a big organization like NTUC to open up foodcourts to provide affordable food fares, but we can dedicate some of our time to volunteer. We may not have wealth like Martha Stewart to donate to provide food for thousands of children, but we can dedicate our time to volunteer to bring smiles to tens of children.

Credit: http://geniusquotes.net/kindness-is-like-coffee/

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*Disclaimer: This is based purely on my personal views and different people may have different views.
Despite the debates against positive psychology, I still believe there are people out there who genuinely help out of their good intentions. I truly salute these people. It is this group of people who make the society a warm and happy place to live in:)