The Promotion of Human Welfare

I read this great essay and within it was this quotation,

“…it would be far more socially beneficial to induce men to accept the promotion of human welfare on earth as their major purpose in life.”

That is beautiful!

Think about it for one moment. Imagine what would happen if everyone looked out for one another. Imagine what the world would be like if we all took on this challenge personally.

It doesn’t take much to do either. Next time someone is following you into the mall, hold open the door for that person. Simple things can mean a lot. It doesn’t have to be a large task to help someone out.

Scouts Canada has a saying that all its members should, “Do a good turn daily.” This means that they should do something nice for someone everyday. I think this is a rule we all should live by. I often look for ways to help people out. And I don’t expect anything in return.

This quotation continues,

“Moreover, men can achieve far greater and more immediate personal satisfaction from success in their effort to promote human welfare in this world than from any other effort to achieve bliss in the next world. And the observation of visible success is bound to strengthen any purpose.”

Think about it. Try to do something today to promote human welfare. It will make you feel good and it will do a lot for the world.

quotation from Burnham P. Beckwith, American Atheist, March 1986. as is appeared in Richard Robinson, Life Has No Purpose – We Create It from Constructing a Life Philosophy. 2002 Greenhaven Press.


4 responses to “The Promotion of Human Welfare”

  1. Not quite the same thing. I’m not talking about politics or capitalism. I just think we should care about other people as people and try to help others whenever we can.

  2. The trouble with “there are no absolute moral standards, but can’t we all just get along” ideas is that they only work with people who are already convinced they must/should be true.

  3. Minds can change. And maybe they need to. People believe in this way of thinking, and those of us that do can win over those who don’t. Or at least, we can try.