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Reciprocity and Altruism
“But what about good old-fashioned altruism?” This is one of the questions that comes to mind when reading some of the policy work coming out of government on the issue of charitable giving. A key feature of both the green and white and papers on giving, and of some of the subsequent new funding that has been announced, is a focus on reciprocity: finding new forms of “offering donors something in return” in order to incentivise giving. This raises the question of whether people do increasingly expect to get something back, or whether there is still room for overtly selfless or altruistic behaviour.
Of course, the first thing we should ask ourselves is whether there is really any such thing as true altruism, or whether there is inherently some element of reciprocity in any form of giving.
Posted on August 22, 2011 with 7 notes ()
A blog by the Charities Aid Foundation’s Policy and Campaigns team looking at the key issues affecting civil society, philanthropy, social investment and the use of new technologies for social good. We consider what is happening right now, and also scan the horizon for the most interesting developments to try and understand what will be important in the future. This blog is intended as a space to test ideas and hopefully spark debate. The topics covered and the views expressed do not represent CAF’s official policy positions.
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