Posted: Apr 10, 2020 3:05 am
crazyfitter wrote:‘Most of us in one way or another are constantly expending time effort and energy in ways which benefit others, often strangers who we will never meet. Shelves are stacked, roads paved, floors cleaned, books written, devices assembled, goods delivered and so on and we know that it is for the benefit of others who we don’t know’
I’m not too sure about that, I’ve done many menial tasks for the benefit of others but I wouldn’t have done them if I wasn’t getting paid. On the other hand there are many voluntary and charity organisations which would fit the bill. Very noticeable at this weird moment in time is the way the postman and delivery men smile at me through the window and give me thumbs up signs and keep well back from the door when I have to open it. Truly extraordinary. We really are human.
Yes, you are right, the compensation we receive for doing these jobs is clearly the proximal cause of us doing them. But I think that human reciprocity is of a different kind and scale to that found in the animal world. That was the main thing that struck me. Your mention of volunteer and charity organizations was on point.
Thank you for the little vignette of the postman and delivery men having that little moment of shared humanity.
I was also thinking of me and my mates who meet up for beers. We buy rounds but nobody really keeps track too carefully about if we get out of sync or if someone comes late or leaves early. One of my mates calls it Beer Karma. It will all work out in the end.
That mutual trust is something I value. We humans are (mostly) not the apes at the water hole in 2001 and cooperation and sociality will usually yield far better outcomes than competition, suspicion, mistrust and conflict.