The Human and Economic Dimensions of Altruism

The Human and Economic Dimensions of Altruism
By Richard A. Epstein

http://www.bioethics.gov/background/epstein.html

[This paper was discussed at the Council's April 2006 meeting. The views expressed here do not represent the official views of the Council or of the United States Government.]

The most visible case in my experience is one in which Virginia Postrel recently gave a kidney to Sally Satel.4 Both are libertarians, which should caution against any easy inferences of personal behavior from political philosophy: to recognize the forces of self-interest is not to be selfish.
Yet, for these purposes, it seems clear that one reason why the Satel/Postrel transaction is so notable is that it is so rare.

4. For Virginia Postrel’s blog, see http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/index.html.