David asked:

I have been troubled by a concept or question: If people make poor decisions in their life which leads
to hardships for them, why should I help or be concerned — after all, it's their own fault! A family
member, the bum on the street, a coworker anyone who is not doing very well in life because of their
own making. How do you come to terms with wanting to help or actually helping, but still knowing
people caused their own problems and should be responsible for their hardships?

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It seems to me that people who have troubles through their own fault must feel worse than those who
have met misfortune through no fault of their own. They could have done otherwise, and have to
suffer regret. And the worse a person feels, the more reason for concern. And then the more reason
for concern, the more reason to help.

I always think about the bum in the street "there but for the Grace of God go I". Not that I believe in
God, but I know that I could have — and maybe still will — act in such a way that I bring hardship
upon myself.

It's strange that you should ask "how should we come to terms with this?" I don't understand this. For
sure, it is more difficult if it involves a family member because the fault is closer to home and you
have expectations of those close to you that correspond to your own evaluations of behaviour. But
the same principle should apply.

Rachel Browne

One comes to terms with the situation that David describes by making sure that in helping one does
not communicate that one's beneficiary is not responsible for his situation. Now if you are convinced
that helping will onlyreinforce the irresponsible behavior, then you may be justified, maybe even
morally obliged, to refrain from helping. I'm no Objectivist, but I'm struck by the relevance of what Ayn
Rand, the apostle of selfishness, had to say about charity, and David may wish to explore further her
thought on this topic: "The fact that a man has no claim on others.... does not preclude or prohibit
good will among men and does not make it immoral to offer or to accept voluntary, non-sacrificial
assistance.... when it is offered in response to the receiver's virtues, notin response to his flaws,
weaknesses or moral failures, and noton the ground of his need as such." ("Charity," The Ayn Rand
Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z,Harry Binswanger, ed., New York: New American Library, 1986, p.
69.)

Tony Flood

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