Mixing Intentions

Now that we've discussed intentions in general, I wanted to share an interesting point on a related note. I am a big fan of a political philosophy professor at Harvard, Michael Sandel. In his book "What Money Can't Buy" (not a self-help book, but rather a work on applied philosophy), Dr. Sandel claims that monetary incentives sometimes weaken intrinsic intentions. In other words, when we introduce money to a system that is working without financial motives, we might break or weaken the system (if we don't pay enough); and this happens because money crowds out non-market values. This can be understood by the three super interesting cases that he presents:

1. Blood Donations: Sandel contrasts two approaches: one where donors receive compensation and another where donations are entirely reliant on unpaid volunteers. Despite financial incentives in one system, the altruism-based approach consistently maintains better-stocked blood banks. Studies show that unpaid donors are more likely to donate regularly and derive greater satisfaction from their contributions, thereby ensuring a more reliable blood supply.
2. Nuclear Site: Sandel examines a case involving a proposed nuclear waste repository in a small village with approximately 2,100 residents. Initially, a slight majority of villagers supported the repository due to a sense of civic duty. However, when substantial annual compensation was offered by the government, support for the project declined sharply. Economic surveys at the time indicated that many villagers perceived the monetary offers as attempts to buy their consent rather than genuine efforts to address community concerns about nuclear waste disposal.
3. Donation Day: In a fundraising event involving students from a certain town, they were divided into three groups: volunteers without compensation, a group receiving 1% of donations collected, and another receiving 10%. In addition, all of these three groups were given a motivational speech. What do you think the outcomes were? Surprisingly, the volunteer group outperformed both paid groups in terms of total donations collected during door-to-door requests.

To me, none of these three cases are intuitive. But they offer some insight into the relationship between altruistic intentions and external rewards. We can see how intentions (and their potential corruption) not only hold internal importance but also have a practical impact on the outcomes we achieve.

Thus, when we engage in acts of kindness, charity, or community service, it is vital to ensure that our intentions are sincere and driven by a genuine desire to make a positive impact. And the intention behind making a positive impact should be rooted in a higher purpose beyond personal gain.

Conclusion

I write this first as a reminder to myself and then as a reminder to us all, to emphasize the importance of intentions. Intentions are the core of our actions and define their true value. They guide how we interact with others and shape the outcomes we achieve.

Questioning our intentions liberates us from unreasonable and often corrosive societal norms and expectations, such as consumerism, beauty standards, materialism, social status, and the pressure to conform. This self-awareness grants us the freedom to act with genuine purpose, elevating the value of our actions. And without these reflections, we risk behaving like animals and just following the crowd and our avaricious desires.

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