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In my life experience, many Americans tend to be selfish individualists and fail to reciprocate or be concerned about anyone else. For example, a donation barre

In my life experience, many Americans tend to be selfish individualists and fail to reciprocate or be concerned about anyone else. For example, a donation barrel at a local hackerspace one recent holiday season was essentially empty. Inequality is also rampant as thousands of homeless people live on highway embankments while millionaires drive past in Ferraris. In areas without community social ramifications (typically large cities), there's little benefit of helping and minimal risks of not helping others. OTOH, there are bigger risks of not being helpful in rural areas where there might be one general store run by one person and where reputation gossip gets around.

dcx 6y ago
While I agree on the inequality, the US does have the highest charitable donations per capita of all countries worldwide by quite a margin [1], which seems to be a good measure of generosity. Although the counterpoint to this might be that said charity is only necessary because of the effects of a kind of systemic selfishness? (I don't know this subject matter very well; more informed perspectives very welcome) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitable_donation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitabl...
- DFHippie 6y ago
  I wonder how much of that, though, is tithing or other support of religious institutions. I'm not sure how to tease these apart, but Creflo Dollar and Opus Dei seem like they should be in a different category from Oxfam and street beggars.
  - david_w 6y ago
    Yeah, you're right. https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/758803/Oxfam-scandal-sex-abuse-corruption-deaths https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/758803/Oxfam-scandal-sex-a... https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/918425/OXFAM-SCANDAL-charity-losing-half-a-million-pounds-A-YEAR-fraud https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/918425/OXFAM-SCANDAL-chari... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2641108/Former-head-counter-fraud-Oxfam-jailed-stealing-64-000-charity-probing-misconduct-aid-workers-Haiti.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2641108/Former-head... https://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/plans-reports-and-policies/reporting-misconduct https://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/plans-reports-a...
- paypalcust83 6y ago
  That's all well-and-good meaningless virtue signaling, but it doesn't give millions of homeless people homes, a decent standard of living to people working for poverty wages, those tens of millions people who have dropped out of the workforce (participation rate) good jobs, tens of millions universal healthcare, or the hundred/s of millions savings for a path to ever retire. So don't talk to me about the "generosity" of Americans.

dcx 6y ago

While I agree on the inequality, the US does have the highest charitable donations per capita of all countries worldwide by quite a margin [1], which seems to be a good measure of generosity. Although the counterpoint to this might be that said charity is only necessary because of the effects of a kind of systemic selfishness? (I don't know this subject matter very well; more informed perspectives very welcome) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitable_donation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_charitabl...

DFHippie 6y ago
I wonder how much of that, though, is tithing or other support of religious institutions. I'm not sure how to tease these apart, but Creflo Dollar and Opus Dei seem like they should be in a different category from Oxfam and street beggars.
- david_w 6y ago
  Yeah, you're right. https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/758803/Oxfam-scandal-sex-abuse-corruption-deaths https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/758803/Oxfam-scandal-sex-a... https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/918425/OXFAM-SCANDAL-charity-losing-half-a-million-pounds-A-YEAR-fraud https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/918425/OXFAM-SCANDAL-chari... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2641108/Former-head-counter-fraud-Oxfam-jailed-stealing-64-000-charity-probing-misconduct-aid-workers-Haiti.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2641108/Former-head... https://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/plans-reports-and-policies/reporting-misconduct https://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/plans-reports-a...
paypalcust83 6y ago
That's all well-and-good meaningless virtue signaling, but it doesn't give millions of homeless people homes, a decent standard of living to people working for poverty wages, those tens of millions people who have dropped out of the workforce (participation rate) good jobs, tens of millions universal healthcare, or the hundred/s of millions savings for a path to ever retire. So don't talk to me about the "generosity" of Americans.