Financial Altruism or Unilateral Resource Exchanges? Toward a Pure Sociology of Welfare

Bibliographic Data

ID2137197
AuthorsJoseph H Michalski (0000-0001-9365-7009, King's University College at the University of Western Ontario, corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume21
Issue4
Pages341-358
Publication date2003-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Theory (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0735-2751 • E-ISSN: 1467-9558
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1046/j.1467-9558.2003.00193.x
OpenAlexW1966611625
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited63

Questions concerning the essential nature of altruism, the existence of an altruistic personality, and the genetic, biosocial, and social psychological bases of altruistic behavior have dominated theory and research on the topic. The current paper reconceptualizes financial altruism sociologically as a form of unilateral resource exchanges, or welfare. The alternative definition employs Donald Black's (1979, 2000) analytic approach to describe and explain the behavior of welfare with its location and direction in social space. The paper offers several propositions that purport to explain variations in welfare by drawing upon cross-cultural research. In general, welfare flows in the direction of those who are less integrated and who have lower social status. In addition, welfare varies directly with intimacy, conventionality, and respectability. Finally, welfare varies inversely with relational distance, cultural distance, and group size. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of strengths and limitations of the general propositions advanced

Biosocial theory · Economics · Market economy · Personality · Political science · Positive economics · Social Welfare · Sociology · Welfare · Law · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Capital and Networks · Social Psychology

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