unselfishness

Thanks for displaying such unselfishness and support. It's really people like you who begin making a difference.

> My criticisms here relate to authenticity, and choice of specific values - [not an] idealization of 'unselfishness' Sure. So, is it not enough to just be nice to people, must we always be authentic too?

Arguably, this would make people less sensitive to the issue of selfishness vs unselfishness, which is only a moral consideration when you assume individualism.

However, some people are the opposite: generous, giving, and the picture of unselfishness themselves. For example, picking up the entire check at a restaurant, or just splitting it evenly even though they had a smaller dish. Or spotting you $10 and saying "don't sweat it, I know it'll come back around." They make the assumption that you are trustworthy, and understand that you're human and fallible, but have good intentions. They make you feel good about yourself and about them, and you want to be friends with them; it's a positive relationship. This is what MIT/BSD/Apache feels like. The second person might get burned sometimes by their unselfish generosity, but in the end, they make a lot more friends, and those friends like them and want to give back. Overwhelmingly, they receive more than they give because of the sheer multitude of positive relationships they build. In the software world, I can absolutely feel this effect. When I see a project that's been GPL'd, I actually consciously and willingly resent them for it. I perceive they're being selfish with their work, they don't trust me to contribute back naturally, and thus they're making a bunch of pre-judgements and demands on me before they hand over the code. It's bullshit. I might use it if I have to, and I'll contribute back because I have to, but you know what? I won't enjoy it. I love open-source, but I can't shake that feeling of ill will. MIT/BSD/Apache licensed software is the model of unselfishness.