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Is altruism — if it even exists — necessary for socialism to function?

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Is altruism — if it even exists — necessary for socialism to function?

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Whether or not altruism exists, there are many cases of people who will go out of their way, and sometimes suffer physical injury, to help others they may not even know. Whenever there is a natural disaster, such as a tsunami or an earthquake, people willingly donate to help those affected. Reducing one’s wealth is, whether small or not, an injury to oneself. Even if there is no altruism, people are quite willing to help other people even when there is no direct, substantive benefit. But even that is not necessary for the function of a socialist society. All that is necessary is “enlightened self interest,” the recognition that pro-social behaviour benefits oneself. Producing food, voluntarily, will benefit the farmworker because otherwise he would starve. Producing medical equipment or medications, voluntarily, will benefit the worker who does so, because otherwise that equipment or medication would not be there when she needs it. An anti-social farmworker might decide that there are

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