Every so often a cautionary quote about philanthropy makes its rounds, warning us against those who claim to have the best interests of others in mind:
I get the cynicism behind the quote, and other similar warnings from folks like Mencken and Ayn Rand about altruism and philanthropy and self appointed saviors. But it’s too reductionistic. There are great people teaching, ministering, social working, caring for nature, working in medicine, doing elder care (and more) who are motivated by saving humanity or healing the world or some other noble aspiration.
If Mencken’s quote was accurate, then the cure for people who want to “save humanity” would be the opposite: People who don’t care about humanity. And people who don’t care for anyone other than themselves are the absolute worst people to work with, rely on, and/or put in charge of anything.
If I created criteria to speak to Mencken’s cynicism, I would prefer to say:
The urge to save humanity must be rooted in compassion for individual humans: Beware of people who want to be in charge but who do not serve others. Beware of people who want to save humanity but don’t seem to care about actual humans. Beware of people who spend time defending the rights and needs of the privileged instead of the rights and needs of the vulnerable.
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