The moral inferiority of charity (Was: Re: [extropy-chat]Gametheoryofcommoncold

[Rafal Smigrodzki]

Harvey wrote:

>>> If I were a bitter old Libertarian clutching my
>>> gun and grumping about all taxes being theft,
>>> I would be so busy wallowing in my self-pity
>>> and victim mentality that I would not give back
>>> anything to anyone.
>>
>> I'm sure there are a few people like that out there, but
>> almost all of the libertarians I know are not like that.
>
> Maybe not that extreme.  But you are already arguing that charity is
> not as important as working, creating and making your own money.

### Of course! Charity is not an evolutionarily stable strategy for
improving general welfare, except as a signaling device in competition for
resources (attention, mates, cooperation). Cooperation in a reciprocal
altruist fashion is stable ("making your own money" in the market), and
should form the basis for evaluation of individuals and societies alike.
Charity is obviously morally inferior than work and creation, because it
doesn't create and for the most part doesn't increase welfare, indeed, may
encourage a reduction in effort on the part of its recipients. Charity feeds
on work, and therefore is no more than a distraction - a nice one, perhaps,
to be mildly encouraged, like puppies and ikebana, but still a distraction.

Rafal