Would it be possible....

Sure, but don't get all gooey over the idea. People are essentially selfish, which was good from an evolutionary perspective. They also display compassion and altruism, which was also beneficial, within certain constraints. The traditional method of make charity attractive to citizens in modern societies is to give a tax break for charitable contributions. It works, but it doesn't open the floodgates of generosity.

But can we be sure that people will inevitably be essentially selfish?
What if the only reason we are essentially selfish is because we were taught to be?
Maybe evolutionary perspectives aren't justifications for our selfishness as much as justifications for teaching it to children. People do the best they can, and it may be that we are selfish because we think we are supposed to be.

What if being known for having a big heart was a status symbol of equal value as being known for having a big house?

Oh yeah, you bet!



It comes naturally--parents spend their time on this issue attempting to teach children not to be so selfish.

I wasn't justifying anything, i was just making observations. As for making generosity a status symbol, good luck with that. Let us know how that works out for ya, OK?

Given your view, with that kind of answer, we all would still be a bunch of reptiles...we just need a bit more of critical mass in the average IQ to set that out...

The problem is altruism versus selfishness. From an evolutionary point of view the one person who is selfish in a selfless world will excell and survive longer. This means his genes and memes for selfishness pass on to his children. Eventually this bloodline spreads and a majority of the population become selfish again.

...not so quick on the trigger there...

...now in everyday life we need to develop complex tasks which in turn require cooperation...things are slowly changing...lets just hope not to slow given the actual chaotic state of the world...