Martin Luther King Jr Monument

#51
#51
I give to charity because it gives me a feeling of I'm better than them and they need my money, fwiw
 
#52
#52
golfballs03 said:
you said they are indistinguishable. so if people donate to charity out of their own self-interest, according to you, they do it out of greed.

And I'm telling you that is absurd. tell me it's not.
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It's not absurd. What about tax breaks?
 
#55
#55
nbakerld said:
You mean you want them to read this:
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Exactly. Or any of the posts on the last few pages...

Not sure what I missed? Was just giving an example of how someone donating to charity out of their own self-interest, could be doing so out of greed...
 
#57
#57
WRT to the OP - glad there's a monument; think it's crappy that the family demanded money for the rights to use some of his words. Whether or not it's greedy I don't know - but it is sh*tty IMHO.
 
#59
#59
golfballs03 said:
You said that everyone is greedy, and greed is essentially why people donate to charity.

OK :crazy:
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Everyone is greedy, but I merely questioned the motives of our charitable actions. I never offered "greed" as the primary motivator in philanthropy. The reasoning is: I try not to judge others' actions, because I have no idea what their true motives are. I often question what my true motives are. And you should, too.

nbakerld said:
Exactly. When I do something charitable I feel good. How do I know I didn't do it out of my greedy need to feel good?
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#60
#60
I never said it was impossible that some people may give to charity driven out of a greed for something.

BUT, if you think it's possible that some people give to charity out of greed, then you can just as easily say the King relatives were also acting out of greed by taking $800k for the rights on this monument. Something you originally said was a stupid claim.
 
#61
#61
golfballs03 said:
I never said it was impossible that some people may give to charity driven out of a greed for something.

BUT, if you think it's possible that some people give to charity out of greed, then you can just as easily say the King relatives were also acting out of greed by taking $800k for the rights on this monument. Something you originally said was a stupid claim.
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It kind of sounded like you were saying it is impossible. You couldn't even take me seriously because I was saying it was possible:

golfballs03 said:
I can't take anyone seriously who thinks it's a possibility that my anonymous donations to charity are done out of greed. That is absurd.
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The point about MLK's family is that it's not useful to describe them as greedy because everyone is greedy. Have you ever turned down a raise? People in the third world probably think it's very greedy for an American to accept a job that pays $30K.
 
#62
#62
nbakerld said:
It kind of sounded like you were saying it is impossible. You couldn't even take me seriously because I was saying it was possible:



The point about MLK's family is that it's not useful to describe them as greedy because everyone is greedy. Have you ever turned down a raise? People in the third world probably think it's very greedy for an American to accept a job that pays $30K.
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here we go again....

Let's just cut to the heart of the matter and ask people in the 3rd world if they think the Kings are being greedy.
 
#63
#63
golfballs03 said:
Let's just cut to the heart of the matter and ask people in the 3rd world if they think the Kings are being greedy.
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I'm sure they think they are greedy. That's the point. To you, the Kings are greedy. They probably have what they see as justification for it. To the 3rd world, you are probably greedy, even though in your mind you can justify your pay raise, or flat screen, or whatever. It's all relative and in the eye of the beholder. Usually the people we consider greedy have more than us. It's very rarely anybody with less than us. That tells you more about envy than it probably does greed.
 
#64
#64
We disagree on the premise that greed = self-interest. I think it's a stonewall to your libertarian leanings, which is completely unnecessary.

I do think people do what's in their best interest (or at least what they think is their best interest). It doesn't make them greedy. They are two different things
 
#65
#65
golfballs03 said:
We disagree on the premise that greed = self-interest. I think it's a stonewall to your libertarian leanings, which is completely unnecessary.

I do think people do what's in their best interest (or at least what they think is their best interest). It doesn't make them greedy. They are two different things
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I agree with you in that I don't think greed = self-interest...but I think the thin line is indistinguishable. People often perceive self-interest as greed, and that's where problems arise.
 
#67
#67
golfballs03 said:
I can't take anyone seriously who thinks it's a possibility that my anonymous donations to charity are done out of greed. That is absurd.
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All greed is self-interest but not all self-interest is greed. Rational self-interest should be the goal. The problem is that greed can often be irrational. Sometimes not.

There is no such thing as altruism. EVERYTHING we do is done because it makes us happier than the alternative. Honest, self-aware people admit this. If you think you have ever done something for any other reason you are deluding yourself. What separates good people from bad people are what things make you happy.
 
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