Whenever I travel to developing countries I see a lot of poor people, bad infrastructure and the unsettling feeling to be better off then them. I also face the dilemma of deciding whether to give the beggar money or if it is better to donate it to a charity organisation or even to use my time to help. I gave this an intensive thought in my new blog entry on The Mundane Philosophe including the even more important “… dilemma of philanthropy – Start early with no money and power, or grow yourself first to have more leverage later.”
Related articles
- The dilemma of philanthropy: Start early with no money and power, or grow yourself first to have more leverage later? (mundanephilosopher.com)
- Using money and power to improve our world: Start early in life with only small effectiveness or later with much more leverage? (mundanephilosopher.com)
- Street hawker in Angkor Wat (mundanetraveller.com)
The challenges of improving the world
Whenever I saw beggars, children selling souvenirs or people charity events asking for donation I wondered whether I should help or not. Even when I helped it always left me with a nagging doubt and a bad conscience. Have you also faced the following dilemma of philanthropy?
- start helping early in your life with low impact due to lack of skill and resources (money and power), furthermore slowing down your own growth of your resources in the process or
- postpone helping to later for a higher impacton the outcome due to more resources (money), influence (power) and skills you have earned through work and life experience
Last week I had an interesting talk with a journalist whose dream is to start a company to help children. I have learned that such kind of endeavor is called social entrepreneurship. A few years…
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