RE: Living Well Through Critical Thinking
Having concern for others is to have concern for ourselves in the end.
This is a beautiful rendition of the principle of altruistic self-interest. Interestingly enough, I often discuss this when the topic of taxation comes up. Where I am, almost everyone thinks that it is just and best for government to redistribute wealth because it demonstrates they have concern for others.
Ironically, after delegating their own altruism to a middleman, they often are resentful of the condition of things being what they are because of government inefficiency. When asked why they don't do something about it, I often hear "because it's .gov's responsibility" or "it's too much for one person" or even "I don't have the money to do it!" etc. (And why is that, I wonder?)
I have this conversation in large groups as well, with some frequency (classroom situations), and it is very enlightening in regards to just how much personal responsibility for the well-being of our fellow man has been abdicated to faceless bureaucracies. Inevitably a rousing discussion.
Anyway, I very much appreciated your contribution, keep it up!