I have a confession to make... I don't... really... care... about global warming, wealth inequality, some distant war, or hungry kids in Africa. There is not a doubt in my mind that those things are all absolutely terrible. But I'm just not really concerned about them.
That's an incredibly privileged way to go through life. Only a really privileged person can say something outrageous like 'I don't really care about wealth inequality'. But as outrageous as it is, at least it is true. Does my honesty excuse my indifference? No, of course not. I know I should be paying attention to these grand themes in the world. But deep down... I simply don't care.
This is why I came up with a nifty little technique to help poor beggars like myself to do a bit of good in this world.
Hey, I can do good even if I don't care
Last year, after I made a custom bike bag out of recycled material, I realised that I can unintentionally do 'good'. It struck me that using recycled material could be considered 'sustainable', and thus 'good'. This was never my intention, I just saw the discarded material and thought: 'hmm, nice, free material'. So the sustainable aspect of the product was purely coincidental.
The set of bike bags I made, unintentionally sustainable
That process made me realise that I don't need to be extremely passionate about a good cause in order to contribute to it. Doing good can be a side effect.
I call that 'unintentional morality', and I like it because it made me reflect on my relationship with 'doing good'. I would love to do good in the world, but I can't say that it is my passion to do good. Even though deep down I know I should focus my efforts at doing good, I am also a white straight male in a patriarchal society, so there is not too much incentive for me to care about things.
Micro dosing morality
But what is the alternative? Should I become a pathetic Pecksniff that pretends to be passionate about whatever the goody two-shoes tell me? That doesn't really work for me. I also don't think it's a sustainable way of thinking about 'doing the right thing'. For me, morality is closely linked to what Sir Roger Scruton dubbed oikophilia:
The love of home and hearth, a motif that encompasses all our strongest bonds and is expressed in the moral, aesthetic and spiritual emotions that transform our world and create a refuge in threatening circumstances from which future generations can also benefit.
Sir Roger Scruton
Green Philosophy (2012)
To care about something, it needs to be part of your oikos, your home. This why it won't work for me to just get involved in any good cause out there. I would feel like a charlatan that only attempts to do good in order to be seen as good. Morality as status (the avenue that Rutger Bregman is promoting in his new book Moral Ambition). I would prefer to put time and effort in a good cause that I feel strongly about.
But in order to feel passionate about any good cause, I need to expose myself to it first. And thus I will start experimenting with exposure therapy. By micro dosing morality into my projects and my life, I might actually start to care about doing more good.
Of course, the name 'unintentional morality' doesn't work anymore once I've consciously tried to micro dose it. Perhaps 'side-effect-morality' suits better. I'll get back to the naming of the this experiment later. For now, I'll just focus on trying to incorporate a bit of good into my projects.
Post scriptum
To all of you to will accuse me of not having enough urgency I say: yes, you are right. Many good causes need direct and 100% help. I'm not debating that. But you have to consider that I come from a place of virtually complete indifference. You have to allow me a slow start to find my way in the world of good causes. Also: if you have any suggestions considering this journey, please don't hesitate to contact me.