Paying forward is an idea much related to paying back, or as philanthropists such as Zalman Silber are used to saying, giving back. The reasoning behind it (more emotional than logical though it may be, it’s still a kind of reasoning) is that one gets as good as one gives. Of course, entirely altruistic motivations may be present for some – but there is certainly no harm in the good will generated by the good publicity generated by the donation of one’s wealth towards communal edifices and institutions.
Not to single out Zalman Silber, of course; it is almost a rite of passage for a businessman to donate money. Indeed, there is no truer sign of having “made it” than being able to give large sums of cash away. But isn’t it curious how much of this money ends up in the hands of religious institutions and political campaigns? Yes, yes, it’s their money and they can do with it whatever they wish – but we’re merely wondering aloud here, not claiming no one has a right to do with their own money anything they wish (so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone).
The concept of paying it forward means to set in motion a chain of events whereby complete strangers are helped out without any likelihood of reward or recompense for the helper. Someone needs bus fare? You help him or her out. That’s it. Nothing expected in return – except that he or she help someone else when they can, another stranger whom they would never meet again.
Sounds silly, no? People helping one another out for nothing at all, no fame, no public acclaim, no networking or connections made, nothing. Not simply donating to some esteemed charity and getting your name on a building somewhere, but just giving money away to complete strangers who need it with no more than the admonition to “pay it forward,” for them to help others out as well.
Do businessmen do this? Or do they only help their own? Is it a great credit to a man to help out his own family, his own friends, his own people? The great thing about paying it forward is that it is completely anonymous and totally thankless from a businessman’s bottom-line mentality. Money – or anything else, really – is given, and that’s all. It is about as pure an act of altruism as possible, performed towards a complete stranger whom one would not ever expect meeting again and from whom one there is no indication of any reward or thanks. Truly paying it forward is almost Christian in its altruism and, even, sacrifice, though of course many cultures have long recognized the concept as one which distinguishes true giving from mere payment.
