Should people who are more fortunate than others have more of a moral obligation to help those who are less fortunate?
People advance, and achieve wealth and fame by their own merit, relentless hard work and determination. They are by no mean obliged to help others who can’t fend for themselves, yet if they wish to do so, they are free to aid the less fortunate. It is the hardships people face, and obstacles they encounter that strengthens people, and pushes them to achieve their goals. Everyone deserves this awakening opportunity.
By donating money, or offering easy aid to others, philanthropists inadvertently undermine these people, their abilities, and unconsciously snatch their drive to “achieve something”, The basic principle that we all abide by is “survival of the fittest”, and people would reach high extents and strive just to achieve this. Moreover if there was always an easy way out of problems, in this case by accepting the help of the “more fortunate”, people would never really get the chance to grow up, learn from their experiences, and makes them much more dependant on one another. This dependence acts as the foundation of a budding inequality. People grow to depend on the more fortunate, as a result, never really learn the ropes of their job, and hope for aid whenever their fail. They don’t have the capacity to plan in situations of failures, and become unable to devise back up plans. In short, it doesn’t generate independent and truly self-made individuals.
Additionally people mustn’t feel coerced or forced into helping others with the money they earned with hard work. Philanthropy is something that must be done out of the goodness of people’s hearts, or their own will. To oblige the fortunate people into helping the less fortunate , is somewhat discrimination of a sort, and is assigning moral obligation to the philanthropist for the less fortunate. If anything, everyone is responsible for themselves alone. To help others shouldn’t be a forced task, and when it is heart felt, It is then that it has the best, and desire effect.
For instance, if a brother decides to donate a kidney, to his sibling who is suffering from kidney failure, due to excessive drinking, the brother should do it out of love for his kin, and the goodness of his heart. This decision shouldn’t be automatic due to the fact that he feels responsible for his brother, or is obliged to do so. This just stems from the guilt he probably feels. Sure the kidney might save the brother-the one who damaged his kidney as a result of alcoholism. However , it was the sick brother’s responsibility to not take his health for granted in the first place itself. The kidney instead could have been given to an innocent victim of an accident, or perhaps a sick patient , who truly deserved it.
To help others is intuitive, natural or self-established with one’s character. It should never be one’s obligation, despite his or her social standing or success, nor should it be expected from one.