Sharing

Sharing does not mean commerce. Quid pro quo has become the manner of the age. You give me this. I give you that. This process is not sharing. This is commerce.

Sharing is a generous offering of what I have with another. It is not a win-win in an economic sense. It is not just another zero-sum transaction. It is free giving without expectations or conditions. In this sense, sharing is (a process of) caring.

In these materialistic times in the U.S., sharing has been equated with funding drives by non-profit organizations. These non-profits, as they are inaccurately dubbed by tax laws, are often personal businesses in philanthropic disguise. A six-figure salary for a CEO of a non-profit is a profit for the CEO, who is often the de facto owner of the organization. This may be a valid capitalist form of philanthropic action, but it is not really sharing. It is commerce.

Capitalism couches everything in terms of profits, balance sheets and losses. Sharing in the humanist sense has nothing to do with balance sheets. It is heartfelt giving by one who has to one in need. It is not a negotiation, a transaction or a photo-op. Sharing can range from a spontaneous hug, to time given with a listening ear, to giving shelter to a homeless person. 

While there may be a place in a capitalist world for commercial non-profits to do good, there is a larger place in the humanist practice for sharing. Sharing is a main pillar of any humanist practice. It begins with simply and honestly sharing myself with those who are important to me. It expands to sharing myself and what I can with all other human beings whom I encounter in life on the street, in the subway or in my home. The benefits of sharing in this way are enormous, but they cannot be gained by justifying them with dollars and cents.