If we had more such people, we would have more giving, and that is what we want. To define “altruism” so narrowly that the term can be applied only when giving is contrary to a person’s overall interest would miss the point that the best situation to bring about is one in which promoting the interests of others harmonizes with promoting one’s own.
但这并不意味着这些捐赠者不是利他的。他们的直接动机是帮助他人，他们的奉献给让他们更快乐，这只是奉献确实帮助了他人的结果。如果这样的人更多一些，就会有更多的奉献，而这就是我们想要的。将“利他主义”的定义定得如此狭隘，以至于只能用于奉献与个人总体利益相悖的情形，这就失去了最重要的要点——最理想的状况莫过于促进他人利益与促进自身利益一致。