Psychology Space

The “haves” atone for this guilt by contributing towards the welfare of the “have-nots”, adopting the role of “benevolent givers”. The benevolence of Alfred Nobel, Henry Ford, Bill Gates and many others, can be viewed from this angle

The way people have offered help and assistance to those hit by the October 8 earthquake has been widely appreciated. However, it might appear to be a wee bit exaggerated in some cases and the sympathy exhibited can be interpreted as the survivor’s guilt. Survivor’s guilt is a universal phenomenon, experienced by survivors of shipwrecks, plane crashes or natural calamities, who suffer the loss of their near and dear ones.

It was described in the previous article as remorse or self blame for having survived when others, particularly loved ones, may have perished. Survivor’s guilt is a typical psychological reaction in the face of disasters like the one we experienced recently. There is however another dimension to this phenomenon of guilt that is also relevant.

In some recent psychological literature it is referred to as “Marxist guilt”. Marxist guilt is the feeling of remorse, sin, or wrongdoing that relates to one’s acquisition or management of wealth; particularly when this capital-formation has occurred at the expense of others. It typically refers to the feeling of “sin” that some “haves” may feel when they compare themselves to the “have-nots”.

The “haves” atone for this Marxist guilt by contributing towards the welfare of the “have-nots”, adopting the role of “benevolent givers”. The benevolence of Alfred Nobel, Henry Ford, Bill Gates and many others, can be viewed from this angle. However, such benevolence may also have another motive, such as the desire to be perceived as “benevolent givers”. It may be an attempt to manipulate public opinion in their favour. Tax-saving can be another purpose behind some philanthropic ventures. However, the possibility of impression management and other motives does not entirely rule out the element of Marxist guilt as a variable.

Marxist guilt may be considered to operate in at least a part of our national psyche particularly in the psyche of the “haves”. One does not wish to trivialise in any manner whatsoever, the noble gestures of individuals and organisations in this context, nor to belittle the sacrifices involved. The “haves” are under no obligation to contribute towards the welfare of the victims of earthquake and their doing so reflects the nobility of the intention. These gestures need to be lauded and emulated.

The Marxist guilt model is invoked as a possible explanation of some financial contributions. It does not belittle or trivialise these contributions in any way whatsoever.

Putting down the widespread response of the donors to guilt is perhaps heuristic. There are at least two other implicit variables operative in this collective response. The first of these is termed “altruistic behaviour”, in psychological literature that we as individuals, as groups and indeed as a nation have shown in response to the recent calamity.

Altruistic behaviour is the reverse of selfish behaviour; an altruistic person, group or an organisation is concerned with helping others, even when such helpfulness does not warrant any benefits or rewards. The altruistic first notice that help is required, then interpret the information and assume the responsibility for helping those in need. The selfish do neither of these. They do not notice the signs, do not interpret the signals that help is required and do not assume responsibility to help others in need. The overwhelming helping response of Pakistanis shows that we as individuals, as groups, and as a nation, possess a prominent altruistic characteristic. At the personal level, this response is a most heart-warming reaction to behold. I am proud to be a Pakistani.

The other psychological characteristic that perhaps this trauma has made manifest is the collective response of self-sacrifice. Self-sacrifice is the tendency to deny or postpone the satisfaction of one’s own needs for satisfying the needs of others. Consider the way help has been offered not only in the form of financial donations and other materials, but also in the way volunteer services have been offered spontaneously from all over the country. Is it not a measure of an overwhelming expression of self-sacrifice?

After all, the time spent in voluntary work could have been spent pursuing selfish, narrow, personal goals. The fact that the volunteers decided to forego satisfying their personal needs, putting the needs of the victims first speaks a great deal about us as self-sacrificing individuals, groups, and nation. There is also a loud and clear message in this for the doubters and the cynics. We are not all bad, after all; we only need a “just” cause to stir and propel us, and the goodness lying dormant in our collective psyche becomes overt and expresses itself in myriad ways as it has, in response to the recent calamity.

Humair Hashmi is a consulting psychologist who teaches at Imperial College. This is part of a series of articles on the psychological reactions to the earthquake

Source: Daily Times