About Kindness, Altruism and Modern Altruism--the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.
Lungs breathe air, produce 99% of required oxygen and supply it to other organs. They keep some oxygen to sustain their life too. Yet, they are accused of egoism and self-interest by Mind. "Lungs must live for others--not themselves," Mind demands. "Breathing is selfish and anti-social--1% owns all oxygen, while some organs do not get their fair share. Stop breathing or we'll cut your oxygen supply!"
"What's wrong with this picture, folks?"
"Nonsense! Human mind would never demand such unnatural thing unless it is...out of mind! Human mind is inherently GOOD because KINDNESS and SELFLESSNESS live there."
"Why not? One sane academic mind has already done that. You have to live and sacrifice everything for others, not yourself, he demanded. Otherwise, you are egoist, and this heresy has to be beaten the hell out of you. A prominent French philosopher Auguste Comte invented this "breathtaking" idea in the 19th century. He named it ALTRUISM. You heard this word, didn't you?"
"Yes, but we did not know who the author was and what he really meant. We are surprised that altruism appeared to be not what we heard about it. It sounds so harsh and unforgiving."
"I don't blame you. You probably heard that altruism was voluntary giving and helping; kindness, selflessness and concern for others. And, of course, you never heard about the original Comte's altruism. Proponents of altruism shunned and abandoned it. They don't discuss it anymore.
"Why?"
"Because the legacy of COMTE'S ALTRUIM is BAD. It was embraced by ideologues-collectivists (Marx, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, among others) and integrated into their ideologies (Marxism, fascism, Nazism, socialism and communism). It became a dominant theory in the collectivist societies in the 20th century. But History convicted comrade Altruism. The villain ruined those societies and left its dark legacy--a global cemetery with millions of unmarked graves.
That's why Comte's altruism was replaced with a new concept--MODERN ALTRUISM. You are encouraged to embrace it every day by our educational system, academia, entertainment industry, media and even the government."
"Another altruism?"
"Proponents of altruism deny that. They claim that the modern altruism is about reaching out to others; that it is selflessness and kindness, giving and caring; helping and concern for others--all in one. But the noble mask hides the UGLY nature of the modern altruism--it is an identity thief, conniving pretender and a fraud using deceit, misinformation and confusion as a cover!
Have doubts? Then why has modern altruism stolen the original name altruism? Why does it pretend to be selflessness and kindness, the noble human traits serving humanity so well for ages? Why does it cover for Comte's altruism, the convicted villain, and try to bring it back by fraud using the Trojan-horse scheme of Grand Deceit?
This book is about Kindness, Comte's Altruism and Modern Altruism--the Good, the Bad and the Ugly; about selflessness and egoism; and about reaching out to others. You will never look at altruism the same way again!
