4 - Altruism

Summary

Altruism is the sacriice of one’s own interests or good for the benefit of others. Egoism, concern for one’s own good alone, is its opposite. In general, altruism does not require that one promote the interests of others equally, so an altruist may, for example, sacriice her own interests for those of the members of an exclusive group such as family or community members. Rawls says that classical utilitarianism “is the ethic of perfect altruists” (TJ 165). The suggestion is that a “perfect” altruist would be a perfectly impartial altruist, although as a technical matter, utilitarianism allows one’s own interests to count on equal terms with the interests of others.

Any moral doctrine that requires individuals to sacriice their own interests for those of others will incorporate altruistic elements, although not necessarily raised to a irst principle. Justice as fairness certainly may require individuals to make sacriices, but it does so in accordance with an ideal of reciprocity. Reciprocity, Rawls holds, “lies between the ideal of impartiality, which is altruistic (being moved by the general good), and the idea of mutual advantage understood as everyone’s being advantaged with respect to each person’s present or expected future situation as things are” (PL 16–17). He also associates reciprocity with the idea of the reasonable: “Reasonable persons, we say, are notmoved by the general good as such but desire for its own sake a social world in which they, as free and equal, can cooperate with others on terms all can accept” (PL 50).