From the Editors January 17, 2011 Issue

Be a giver

The Editors

In a world where the gap between the haves and the have-nots is often painfully apparent, beneficent and philanthropic efforts by some of the world’s wealthiest sound pretty good. Two of America’s richest people, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, have started a grass-roots effort they’re calling The Giving Pledge, which encourages their peers to donate at least half of their fortunes for the good of the global family. So far, Buffett has pledged to give away 99 percent of his $45 billion fortune and Gates most of his combined $54 billion. 

The pledge, they say, “is neither an effort to pool resources nor a call to raise funds for a cause. It is simply a moral commitment to give” (“The Billionaires’ Club, The Christian Science Monitor, November 22, 2010, p. 27). 

Think about it: A moral commitment to give. This might begin with grass-roots efforts based on love for one’s fellow man and woman. Recently, the “World Giving Index” ranked countries on their global generosity not just in terms of giving money but also time as a volunteer or helping a stranger. The index placed Australia and New Zealand at the top, the United States in fifth, and the United Kingdom eighth. Perhaps surprisingly, some of the poorer countries such as Sri Lanka, Guyana, and Turkmenistan ranked high in giving—as well as registering high levels of contentment (see “Australia and New Zealand top World Giving Index,” BBC online edition, September 8, 2010).

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