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> Why should you _really_ help someone who lives down the street from you over someone 10 miles away? Why someone 30 miles away over someone 300 miles away? Be
by smallnamespace 10y ago
> Why should you _really_ help someone who lives down the street from you over someone 10 miles away? Why someone 30 miles away over someone 300 miles away?
Because it's more efficient. Because you're more likely to be able to effectively communicate and interact with a neighbor than with someone from across the world. Because of self-interest: helping your neighbor is in part helping yourself.
Like, I grew up here, but the extreme individualism in America seems weird and unhealthy to me. People instinctually work for their family, friends, and tribe first, and we should harness that instinct for good rather than trying to just suppress it.
- skybrian 10y agoThe efficiency argument goes both ways. Certainly it's hard to get anything done when you don't know the language or the culture. On the other hand, GiveWell has spent years researching how to do the most good per charity dollar, and their top recommendations are in Africa. It's estimated (with large error bars) that a few thousand dollars can save a life there by funding bednets to prevent malaria. It's hard to do anything comparable in the US. So if your idea of charity is selflessly giving money, local is not the place to look. But it's rather abstract and you don't build relationships that way. But you are right, charity doesn't have to purely selfless; it can also be about building the local community.