Framework for Democracy
| Learning to Give Philanthropy Briefing Paper Enlightened Self Interest (key points) |
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|---|---|
| Enlightened self-interest was a concept that Alexis de Tocqueville discussed in his | |
| work Democracy in America. The notion he held was that Americans voluntarily join | |
| together in associations to further the interests of the group and, thereby, to serve | |
| their own interests. Using "self-Interest rightly understood" (Tocqueville 1835) to | |
| describe this concept, he combined the right of association with the virtue to do what | |
| was right. The following passage from Democracy in America sums up the concept of | |
| enlightened self-interest: | |
| The Americans, on the contrary, are fond of explaining almost all the | |
| actions of their lives by the principle of interest rightly understood; | |
| they show with complacency how an enlightened regard for themselves | |
| constantly prompts them to assist each other, and inclines them willingly | |
| to sacrifice a portion of their time and property to the welfare of the | |
| state. (Tocqueville 1835., 647) | |
| The nonprofit sector flourishes today because of the concept that people working | |
| together can not only serve their own interest, but can also serve the community | |
| as a whole. In addition, much of today's corporate philanthropy rests upon a base of | |
| enlightened self-interest. For example, corporations give contributions to scholarship | |
| programs. They do this to educate their future workers. These same corporations may | |
| also support cultural programs in the cities where their corporate headquarters are | |
| located; one motivation for their doing so may be to make those cities more attractive | |
| to the people they are recruiting to work for them. | |
| View in full at http://www.learningtogive.org/papers/index.asp?bpid=23 | |
While many principles underlie democracy, the ideas of the “social contract”, “social capital” and “self-interest rightly understood” are particularly important to understanding the role of the independent secure in forming a social base for the existence and support of democratic institutions. Individuals voluntarily give up some of their natural rights in order to live in a society that they control. Through working together, they build bonds of fellowship that help to hold a free society together. Although individuals may pursue their own self-interest, thoughtful people will know that a part of their self-interest is in contributing to the strength and success of the society they have created.
