--- Robin Hanson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: "Why do charity races make sense?"
It allows the participants to demonstrate their commitment to the cause when soliciting money. When a participant comes knocking at your door, he's not just asking you to give money to prevent breast cancer, let's say, but he's saying that he's so committed to the cause that he's willing to run 10K, so surely a few bucks isn't too much for you, is it? Let me offer an alternative situation. At the Univ. of Oregon they have some sort of fair down the main on campus street every year. One year, a student group built a flimsy cage in which one of their members would sit to protest medical research on animals, cosmetic research on animals, or zoos--the sign changed constantly. But it was never the same person in the cage on my repeated passings. Finally I asked a woman in the cage why they were switching, and she said with a slight Valley Girl inflection, "Well, we're humans, and humans have schedules...." At that point I just walked off. If the most they were each willing to give for their cause was to sit in a "cage" and gossip with their friends for a couple of hours, then their cause surely couldn't be very important to them. Being willing to run 10K is the opposite, so to speak. If D.L. is willing to run until he pukes, then the cause must be important to him and I'm more willing to give a few minutes to hear his plea and possibly give money. So why not mow lawns for donations, you ask? What's the point of jogging? You could at least provide a service! Two reasons: First is that, as psychologists have discovered, when people are compensated for something they tend to enjoy it less. Therefore, avoiding quid pro quos helps people feel better about giving and are more likely to give in the future. Second is that a race doesn't crowd out any industry. If you mowed lawns for breast cancer, you'd be putting lawn care professionals out of work and creating even more charity cases. Best regards, jsh ===== "...for no one admits that he incurs an obligation to another merely because that other has done him no wrong." -Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, Discourse 16. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes http://finance.yahoo.com
