Quote Originally Posted by aprilhw3 View Post
I mean no offense, but a starving, homeless man fighting for survival against those who would do him harm isn't likely to be terribly concerned about personal enrichment and enlightenment. There is a reason that crime rates are much higher in low income neighborhoods and third world countries with limited resources to go around. When basic needs are not met, it's dog-eat-dog. Think about it...there are probably a great number of children who go to bed hungry in the city in which you live, yet I'm sure you ate at least one good meal today. Following your logic, you would have sacrificed every bite of food and water you took in today to someone who needed it more. You would also sacrifice your car to someone who needed it more than you do...and your bank account, give it up pal...I'm broke!
Well, concerning how much we should sacrifice and for whom, and when we should do it, that's a question of moral hierarchy. We're not necessarily obliged to give our last scrap of food to a stranger we don't know and haven't heard of. The ethics of altruism can be complicated, but they are there.

I still don't find maslow's hierarchy to be true, though, even in low-income neighborhoods - and I live in one. Crime rates are higher because the temptation is more present to steal or to lie, but rich folks are often as uncaring and unkind as the poor. The well-fed and secure have got their own set of problems and their own way to avoid self-actualization. And, as a busker, I've found that the poorer the person, the more likely they are to toss in some money. It's not about whether poor people do more bad things, but what kind of bad things they do.