Don't try to take care of the world

Meaningless platitudes don't stand the test of time

In a recent post by Paul Graham, he ponders the question of “what to do”. It’s a question that has plagued most ambitious people, especially early on in their life where they have energy without much direction.

In the second paragraph, Graham states the following:

So what should one do? One should help people, and take care of the world. Those two are obvious.

I normally a big fan of Graham’s writing but it’s not entirely obvious one should “take care of the world”.

Later in the post, he writes about what has been told historically to answer the question:

For most of history the question "What should one do?" got much the same answer everywhere, whether you asked Cicero or Confucius. You should be wise, brave, honest, temperate, and just, uphold tradition, and serve the public interest… But there's nothing in it about taking care of the world or making new things, and that's a bit worrying, because it seems like this question should be a timeless one. The answer shouldn't change much.

The fact that “taking care of the world” as an idea wasn’t a popular answer doesn’t say as much about the past than it does about the idea of “taking care of the world”. It’s not a novel idea, and I’m sure other’s have come up with it in the past. In fact, I think I heard my 4-year old come up with this same concept.

The reason “take care of the world” hasn’t been preached as an answer is that it’s a bad answer. It hasn’t stood the test of time as a good idea. No successful societies have been built on this idea, so it never survived. In short, it isn’t Lindy.

What has stood the test of time is that you should be wise, brave, honest, temperate, and just, uphold tradition, and serve the public interest. That message has co-evolved among pretty much all functional societies that stood the test of time.

Why you shouldn’t try to take care of the world

You shouldn’t try to take care of the world because you can’t. Graham knows this. If someone were to pitch YC on “taking care of the world”, YC would rightly pass on the opportunity. They’re about practical things things. Do you know the problem you’re trying to solve? Do you know the people you’re selling to? Are you creating something useful?

Let me propose an alternative. Take care of yourself. Then your family. After that your friends and neighbors. And if you can, your fellow country men and mankind.

If you can’t take care of yourself, you’re not much use to anyone else. It likely means someone else is taking care of you. As the airplane safety manual says, put on your own oxygen mask before attempting to assist others.

Next take care of your family. If you have a family member that has a serious problem (e.g. addiction or similarly destructive behavior), trying to help them is a humbling experience. Even if you knew this person their entire life and he loves you, it’s hard to get them to change behavior. Now imagine trying to help a stranger.

Only after you have your life and the life of your loved ones in order should you consider trying to help others. You should focus on those most similar to you in your proximity, like friends and neighbors. The reason to do so is you understand these people better and the consequences of your actions are more visible.

Finally you can try to expand your sphere of influence, but I don’t know many people that get much beyond their immediate family. You’ll often see tragic stories about literal billionaires that have brothers and sisters with tragic problems.

An example of not taking care of the world

Instead of taking care of the world, try ineffective altruism:

Instead of sending your money to a faceless global NGO promising to save X lives for every Y dollars it receives, consider instead buying your local pee-wee baseball team a new set of uniforms. Is this objectively the best way to do charitable giving? Certainly not. It’s hyper local and fulfilling something relatively high in the Maslow hierarchy of needs.

But consider the workflow. You call up the coach, get the supplier details, call the supplier, order the uniforms and in a few weeks you go see the kids playing in the new uniforms you bought them. You can even cut out a few steps and cut the coach a check directly.

I read a post that asked for advice on organizing some charitable cause. The comments were mostly about organizing via Facebook groups or talking to elected representatives.

This is a recipe for nothing to happen. Instead you can just do it yourself. Clean up your home. Then, clean up your sidewalk. After that walk around your block with a garbage bag and pick up garbage you see. Extend your walk and see what else you can do. No need to include anyone else. You’ll make more of a difference doing this than anything you can do “organizing”.

The people that try to “save the world” often end up with neurosis and paralysis. As they say injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere. So they’re living their life completely detached from their reality, spiraling every day into helplessness. They forsake their agency and their own mental health. They choose not to have children because they begin to believe the world is on the brink destruction, only to wake up old and alone and realize the world is still here, in more or less the form it has always been. Don’t fall into this trap.