'Just when the caterpillar thought that the world is over it became a butterfly'.
In our finest moments, we admire those who sacrificed for others, who gave up for others. There are problem areas of course; a hero in a time of war is a mass murderer if the context were to be changed. Killing people outside war is one of the gravest crimes. Not so about killing other species. But the definition of 'us' and 'them', inherent in such discussions, is more deeply problematic. Nations are one 'group' for which altruistic and selfless behaviour is expected, but there are other groups from sports clubs and schools, to commercial unions and families. Altruism within a group very often becomes selfishness between groups. Should one save for one's family, or give away all one's surplus income every day to others who need it at that moment? In the modern age, racial groupings and even deeply In the modern age, racial groupings and even deeply nationalistic identities are not favoured by the liberals. There is a move towards 'one humanity', and even the rights of the planet as a whole. The confusion is not about the big picture and the fuzzy, warm feeling we might get about the world marching in step towards a bright future. The dissonance is at what level we might expect altruism to occur, at the species, the nation, the family, or the individual level.
