That's quite a simplification, but yeah, I'll accept that for the purposes of this post :) If something I do visibly helps somebody, I feel good then because i

That's quite a simplification, but yeah, I'll accept that for the purposes of this post :) If something I do visibly helps somebody, I feel good then because it feels like I have a purpose in life. It feels like I'm contributing to something greater than myself. I think one of the most fundamental human urges is to feel like you belong to something. Helping people is so far the best way I've found of satisfying that urge. Capitalism seems to be based on the idea that that what people really want is more stuff. I think the reason that seems to be true is because having stuff and acquiring more of it is necessary to survive in a capitalist society. You need to have money to buy food and shelter. That's also why people don't share more of their stuff - sharing their stuff reduces their chances of survival. Even if somebody is rich "enough" to survive, they still need money to participate in nearly every other aspect of society. They can't listen to music, or go out with their friends, or really do anything unless they have money (or stuff that can be converted into money). This is always in the back of people's minds and is the reason people don't share more, I think.