长征的时代意义:为什么善有善报[中英对照]

弗兰克•菲雷迪/著 吴万伟/译

慷慨大方乐于助人的人比自私的人更受欢迎，更有力量。

我在肯特大学的同事心理学家查理•哈代（Charlie Hardy）和马克•范福特（Mark Van Vugt）最近进行的研究表明好人有好报。他们说那些拥有慷慨大方、乐于助人名声的人是所在团体中最被看重的人。

因此，慷慨的人比自私的人更有权威和地位，被选为伙伴或者配偶的可能性也更大。慷慨好像不仅自身是个回报，而且还能给拥有它的人带来更多的社会机会。

奇怪的是，被普遍尊重的利他主义观念在当今文化，至少在英国很难得真诚的祝福和和赞美。

我们生活在心理学家们把利他主义行为看作“帮助别人强迫症”的时代。当然，过分的利他主义行为会导致激情疲劳。照顾年迈的父母或者亲属的行为让人获得“模范”的称号，有人还建议这些好人应该得到经济上的补偿。

尽管美国社会有贪婪的名声，但人家仍继续维持慈善和利他主义的美德。帮助别人的行为得到文化上的赞许。遗憾的是，在英国，慈善捐助的新闻如果招徕的不是玩世不恭的嘲弄，至少是疑神疑鬼的不信任。

媒体觉得很难相信比尔•盖茨（Bill Gates）和投资大师华伦•巴菲特（Warren Buffett）花数十亿的财富做善事是真诚的。我们常常觉得这些利他主义的行为是购买公众承认，捞取名声的花招。

但是我们应该明白慷慨大方是美德，是美好社会所不可缺少的东西。这也是我们内心深处对表现慷慨的人向往的原因。

Generosity is good for you

Helpful people are more popular and powerful than their selfish peers.

New research by my University of Kent psychologist colleagues Charlie Hardy and Mark Van Vugt indicates that nice guys come first. Their study claims that individuals with a reputation for generosity and altruism turn out to be the most valued members of their group.

Consequently generous people possess more authority and status than their more self-oriented peers. They are also likely to be more often chosen as partners and mates. It seems that generosity is not only its own reward, it also provides individuals with greater social opportunities then those who display selfish behaviour.

Perversely the confirmation that altruistic behaviour is valued by normal human beings comes at a time when contemporary culture - in Britain, at least - finds it difficult to celebrate genuine acts of generosity.

We live in a world where psychologists dismiss altruistic behaviour with the diagnosis of "compulsive helping". And apparently too much altruism can lead to compassion fatigue. The act of looking after elderly parents or relatives now earns us the official title of a "carer" and some suggest that this role should be financially compensated.

Despite its reputation for greed, American society continues to uphold the virtues of philanthropy and altruism. The act of giving is culturally affirmed. Sadly, in Britain, news of philanthropy often invites the response of scepticism if not cynicism.

Sections of the media find it difficult to believe that Bill Gates and Warren Buffett genuinely want to do good with their billions. We tend to regard such acts of altruism as calculated attempts to purchase public recognition.

Yet generosity is a virtue through which a community comes to feel at ease with itself. Deep inside we all know this is why we are drawn to those displaying generous behaviour.