Why is it so hard for some people to give?

That's fairly simple. Companies are in business to maximize profit. That's their goal, and that's supposed to be their goal. Now, you can decry Bermuda's corporate tax laws that create such a path to maximized profits, but you're completely missing the point if you're blaming Google.

No, I'm not, not at least from my point of view : My point was that a company couldd imagine its goal to actually give something back to the society that it has benefitted from. All of this Open source stuff they used, for example.

And please don't tell me that this is completely alien - there DO exist a few bosses of privately owned companies/firms who believe so ! They're not many, though, because "giving back" is something that is not so common - and usually exclusively applied to shareholders etc. .

Even Bill Gates is "giving back" at least something - through his charities.

And why shouldn't people give somwething back to society ? Altruism is very human - like greed, hate and love are as well.

Let's take for example transportation companies. They use the streets, the streets get worn out - so why sjhouldn't they give something back to the society - in its incarnation of a "state" - that is actually responsible for maintaining the streets the transportation company uses ? In "state philosophy", a common thought is that the society is constituted as a "state" - so, that practically ALL "government" is basically US.

WE are "the state" in fact ! This is the simplest way of basic democracy !

And if we take this serious, then we must be allowed to give society - in the form of "the state" something bacjk.
But - we must also be allowed to control that beast which is called "the state", because it is basically us !

Which means that any government organization or ministry must be transparent like a window towards its cizizens - because "state philosophy" states that all state-based organizations, ministries and whatnot IS actually US.

In an ideal world, people wopuld acknowledge that it is basically THEM who are responsible for maintaining the streets, for example. It's just o that they've elected - around a few corners - a team of workers who is responsible for maintaining the streets.

The way we think nowadays is just a case of ... what's the word ... losing contact to what we have constituted, what we have elected. It has become something abstract, something far, far away from our minds (so to say), instead of living in a small village out there in the wilderness (or the frontier), where people are actually responsible for maintaining let's say the village's well. Or prison. Or bureaucracy.
"The bureaucracy" in a small town with let's say 100 people actually consists of two neighbours doing the paperwork for you ! And you might - on the other hand - be responsible for keeping the villages' well clean !

In a huge town, people loose sight. It's no more the direct neighbour doing "the bureaucratic paperwork" we all hate - it's (in our minds) some unknown guy or girl we have never seen or met !

This distance is what makes us think in words like "the state", "the gov't", "the workers", "the management" !

In my opinion - and I'm following a new fasion or trend here - things must go back to basic democracy. We must learn to know who is doing what again. "The government" must be "the people" again. I believe that it is healthy if things go back to the roots again - of course with some control functions so that things like with the Nazis cannot happen again.
And of course control functions that the Iron Law Of Oligarchy[/url ] cannot take place anymore.
 
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Why is it so hard for some companies to give ?
Google was found to have transferred all of their profits into the Bermudas, an newspaper article says. Where they pay less tax than in the company's original country …

Google has also given 100's of millions to charities over the years.
 
well there are 3 different type of giving away

first to become popular
second to get some benefit
third for the love of God

if you don't believe in God i don't see many reasons to give away

in Islam u have to give away 1/40 of your cash each year to the certain group of people

If all world were living in true islam there wouldn't be a single hunger
 
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I think it all comes down to: to make yourself feel good.

You donate to help others? Why? Because it makes you feel good :)

You donate so people will recognise you? Why? Because it makes you feel good.

You donate because you are christian? Well, part of the reason would be because you think God will look after you and that you will end up in Heaven - again, because it makes you feel good.

Only other time you'd donate is when you get forced into it! But even then, you will be *forced* to donate, because you'd prefer donating than not for whatever reason it may be :p
 
I think it all comes down to: to make yourself feel good.

You donate to help others? Why? Because it makes you feel good :)

You donate so people will recognise you? Why? Because it makes you feel good.

You donate because you are christian? Well, part of the reason would be because you think God will look after you and that you will end up in Heaven - again, because it makes you feel good.

Only other time you'd donate is when you get forced into it! But even then, you will be *forced* to donate, because you'd prefer donating than not for whatever reason it may be :p

Not really.

I can help people because I think they need it.

But it's not because I'm a kind person, I'm just a rational person. I help because I think it makes sense that we all help each other when we're in need. You actively support the concept of helping others by helping.

Whether that's selfish or not, I couldn't care less. It's rational.

Sure, it might make me feel good - but I know that's bullshit. If I wanted to live a life of short-term good feelings, I'd have been a very different person.
 
Not really.

I can help people because I think they need it.

But it's not because I'm a kind person, I'm just a rational person. I help because I think it makes sense that we all help each other when we're in need. You actively support the concept of helping others by helping.

Whether that's selfish or not, I couldn't care less. It's rational.

Sure, it might make me feel good - but I know that's bullshit. If I wanted to live a life of short-term good feelings, I'd have been a very different person.

Well if you really want to get in to the philosophy of things. Everyone does something because they want a reward. Even if that reward is "feeling good". In your case you help people because you want the reward of feeling like you've done something rational. Or you're reward is knowing you've done something that makes sense. So in the end, giving could be considered selfish because we are always doing it to "get something". So I guess the idea is to choose the least selfish rewards :D
 
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Well if you really want to get in to the philosophy of things. Everyone does something because they want a reward. Even if that reward is "feeling good". In your case you help people because you want the reward of feeling like you've done something rational. Or you're reward is knowing you've done something that makes sense. So in the end, giving could be considered selfish because we are always doing it to "get something". So I guess the idea is to choose the least selfish rewards :D

Ok, if doing something because it makes sense to you gives you a reward of "feeling rational", then you could be right.

It's like if someone pointed a rocket launcher at me - and I chose to get out of the way, I'd be doing that because I wanted the reward of feeling rational.

Yeah, sure, why not :)

As I said - I can help people because it makes sense to me, and because I consider that in support of everyone helping everyone.

What I also said is that I don't care if that's selfish or not. I don't see why it's important whether it's selfish or not.

What I think is important is that it's rational and beneficial. That might make me a selfish person, and that's perfectly alright with me.

But it strikes me as a pointless and trivially boring semantic distinction.

As for "feeling rational" - I'm not sure I'd classify my response as a feeling so much as an intellectually defensible position. The human brain is, theoretically, healthy when it's sane. I consider the pursuit of the irrational a kind of insanity - so by trying to stay rational - I'm holding on to sanity.

I suppose that's a feeling of some sort - but I suspect it's more like an instinct. A survival instinct for me, personally.

However, it has often occurred to me that some people don't consider being rational a worthwhile pursuit - and as such, maybe insanity is not the same as being unhealthy after all ;)
 
An newspaper article claims that lots of Bankers have bought tickets for the premier show of the "Wolf of wall street" movie.

I believe that he is still their idol.
 
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