I don't think I'm as cynical as Kate towards someone who thinks they have a duty or responsibility to do good things. A career oriented towards helping others might bring people a degree of satisfaction with their livelihood or even a sense of self-importance that renders doubtful any assertion that their actions are purely altruistic, but that doesn’t mean that what they’re doing is geared more towards reaping some kind of benefit (material or spiritual) rather than carrying out a responsibility.

I can think of a social worker who works with drug addicts (many there involuntarily) who finds her job extremely frustrating most of the time and would likely agree that she’d be personally happier and more satisfied with life in a cushier private sector job with better pay and a more comfortable life for her family. Would it be wrong for her to continue on if her primary reason for doing so is a sense of duty to her community? I don’t see this as necessarily arising out of guilt. Couldn’t it arise out of a strong sense of community? I see your point that the net effect ultimately can be positive on the individual if you take into account more than just material benefits – but when individuals make a decision every morning to go to their ‘do-gooder’ job rather than switch to a more lucrative career, aren’t they making a ‘blind guess’ of sorts as to whether their actions ultimately are more beneficial for them personally than the alternatives (especially considering all of the dollar signs pointing in the other direction)?

My point is that, when people are confronted with that uncertainty about benefits and choose to side with a sense of responsibility, perhaps they ought to be praised for sticking to it even when their intuitions about personal benefit and job satisfaction may be pointing in multiple directions.

-- VishalA? - 24 Jan 2008