As for “altruist”. That’s an archetype, not an accurate description of a person in the reality we live in, it seems to me. But, when some people are labeled more altruistic than others, I think it reveals more about their social status then the actual degree to which they sacrifice self-interest for interests of others. It seems to me there are quite a few instances where it can be in a person’s interest to be lableled more altruistic than another, particularly when there are status rewards for the label. An example familiar and acceptable to the readers of OB would probably be Mother Teresa. A more controversial example would be the behavior and positionings at the folks at the top of this blog’s heirarchy.
I don’t think claims of being more altruistic is the only example of using claims of being more moral to construct hierarchy. Moral competency is another angle, it’s not necessarily a claim of being more altruistic, but of being more effective. To the degree the claim results in more status, power, and privilege than is specifically required to do work at that higher level of competency, I think it’s also a status play.
As for “altruist”. That’s an archetype, not an accurate description of a person in the reality we live in, it seems to me. But, when some people are labeled more altruistic than others, I think it reveals more about their social status then the actual degree to which they sacrifice self-interest for interests of others. It seems to me there are quite a few instances where it can be in a person’s interest to be lableled more altruistic than another, particularly when there are status rewards for the label. An example familiar and acceptable to the readers of OB would probably be Mother Teresa. A more controversial example would be the behavior and positionings at the folks at the top of this blog’s heirarchy.
I don’t think claims of being more altruistic is the only example of using claims of being more moral to construct hierarchy. Moral competency is another angle, it’s not necessarily a claim of being more altruistic, but of being more effective. To the degree the claim results in more status, power, and privilege than is specifically required to do work at that higher level of competency, I think it’s also a status play.