Memes

Depends on the definition. Kropotkin, who self identified as anarcho communist, wrote a scientific book literally called Mutual Aid

I work a couple food service jobs and the waste brings a tear to my eye. And that's just what makes it to the restaurant. Oh this tomato doesn't look perfect? Throw it away.

Perfect tomato's for sale: $10 each.

Then the pile of perfect tomatos rot as hungry eyes look upon it from outside the store. (They aren't allowed inside, the vagrants might steal!) Rotten like the hearts of those who gatekeep necessities for profit and power.

are you really saying emulsified rat lips, chicken trimmings, porkins, and beef slurry didn't exist in 3500 BCE?

Even animals are not based on such "animalistic instinct", most of animals cooperate on some level.

I mean, you're not wrong, but your point is also kinda meaningless. Of course, you only ever do things because there's something in it for you, even if that something is just feeling good about yourself. If there was truly nothing in it for you, then why would you do it?

But that misses the point of the "people are inherently selfish" vs "people are inherently generous" discussion, because it's not actually about whether people do things only for themselves at the most literal level, instead it's about whether people inherently get something out of doing things for others without external motivation. So your point works the same on both sides of the argument.

Donating to charities often gives tax benefits.

Kind of. I agree partly. My mother used to knit winter clothes, for free, for some institutions and she wasn't the one delivering them. They never knew who she was, and she didn't bother.

We hear that argument a lot, and though some people's charity may be motivated purely by egoism I don't think it applies to the majority at all. The argument assumes that if doing something makes you feel good, then that feeling must be the sole motivation for that action, which is dubious. And if we follow this logic to its natural conclusion, every action that does not make you feel bad is egoistic, and the concept becomes completely meaningless. Saving a child from falling down a cliff? Egoistic! Intervening when someone is treated unfairly? Egoistic! Giving up your chair for an elderly person on a crowded bus? Egoistic!

Let's take this last (admittedly small, everyday, non-dramatic) example. Sure, you could give up your seat purely because you want to look like a good person to others (although it's doubtful anyone would even notice). It's also possible to experience this feeling called empathy, to see an elderly person struggling to keep their balance while standing up and to want to alleviate that particular suffering. Everyone else is sitting down looking at their phones, so there's no community pressure to speak of. No one would call you out if you just pretended not to notice. And the discomfort from standing up on a really crowded bus on a bumpy road could easily outweigh that little buzz you get from doing good.

I'll go even further; it's even possible, in a scenario like this, to not even think about how it's going to make you feel or your self-image or whatever. You just want to help someone else because it's in your power to do so. If this isn't an example of not being egoistic, what would be? What would be the opposite of egoism? To act completely dispassionately?

And what about someone sacrificing their own life to save another? Striving to do good in the world does feel better, yes, but empathy is also a burden. Still, there are genuinely good people out there, that do good deeds and do not take any credit for it, even do it anonymously. And I can tell you from experience, not all of them walk around on clouds feeling like saints. Some of them even experience crippling guilt because they feel they do not do enough. How is that egoism?

Charity can also be used as a tax avoidance scheme and weaponized for political purposes; this is why the rich love it, through charity they are able to help themselves even further

We will feed you if you believe in our religion and work our fields, your true reward for your good works and piety will wait for you in heaven.

It's like your pension plan in the sky.

"One of the USSRs biggest mistakes was giving Ayn Rand an education"

"And when all those self made champions went away and created a new society, free of the old one, one of them asked 'does anyone of us know how to cook?'. And then they screamed in fear".

Kids don’t want to work these days

I honestly can't tell if this is sarcastic or not. There are too many people out there that sound just like this.