Pathological Altruism: Rwandan Genocide

Being friendly and selfless are tasks that most people do daily and without fail. Whether it be on purpose or intrinsic, the act of altruism happens all the time. Altruism has been around for a long while, but it was never truly defined until the French philosopher Auguste Comte coined the term altruism (Mastin 1). Being an antonym to egoism is another reason the word altruism came into existence. Today, however, altruism is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as the, “disinterested or selfless concern for the well-being of others” (“Altruism” 1). Although there are many subcategories of altruism, three of the more specific forms are pathological altruism, narcissistic altruism, and animal altruism.

To start with, one type of altruism

An example of this type of pathological altruism is the Rwandan genocide. The Hutu people killed the Tutsis because the Tutsis were portrayed as having more wealth and a higher social status (Johnson 1). The Hutus believed that killing the Tutsis would help save their society by saving their culture and their people (Oakley & Madhavan 2). They also believed they were benefiting Rwanda and its economy as a whole because Rwanda would go back to how it was before the Tutsis arrived. This harmful and bloody genocide the Hutus thought was helping their country, but in reality it was destroying a whole culture and way of life. Another instance in which this branch of pathological altruism can be seen, is the Holocaust. The Nazis killed millions of Jews just because they believed they were a threat to society (Bulow 1). Believing that the Germans were a ‘master race,’ the Nazis got rid of millions of Jews which they assumed would save the “purity and strength of the German nation” (1). The Nazis were hoping to save themselves but ended up murdering millions of Jews which was devastating for all parties involved. Given these points, thinking that hurting others will benefit yourself in the long run is another part to pathological