Humanitarianism needs to go beyond the Golden Rule

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Most of us are familiar with these words, known as the Golden Rule. In more ways than one, the Golden Rule lives at the root of humanitarianism. Humanitarians work hard to give the less fortunate the same respect and opportunity they have. However, sometimes the adage falls short. Humanitarians can fall into the trap of doing to others what they think they want rather than doing what they truly need.

To truly help those in need, as humanitarians, we need to look outwards instead of inwards.

Author, speaker and President of the Institute for Humane Education, Zoe Weil, suggest that we should become “solutionaires” instead of humanitarians. In an article for “Psychology Today,” she writes, “A solutionary uncovers the causes of problems, from societal systems to deeper psychological motivations and worldviews, that lead to the creation and perpetuation of local and global problems. Then a solutionary looks for effective leverage points and devises solutions so the problem does not persist.” In other words, effective humanitarianism needs to look at the root cause of a problem and find a long-lasting solution.

Say there’s a town near your own home that lives with food insecurity. Initially, you may put yourself in the shoes of the town’s people and determine you would want food right away. So, your solution is to bring in loads of groceries to several apartment complexes in the area. You may even enlist some of your friends and neighbors to bring food, too. This does a lot of good for those people living in the complexes. They now have food to last them a few days or several weeks. However, it doesn’t address the root of the problem. While this selfless act of kindness temporarily solves the issue, the food gifted will eventually run out. And even if you return with more groceries, the system isn’t likely to be sustainable long-term.

While donating food can — and does — do much good for those living with food insecurity, a solutionary also looks to larger solutions. For instance, there may be city or federal programs that can help, but the residents are unaware of the programs. So, a solutionary would spread awareness about these programs and help people sign up. Likewise, a solutionary could spread awareness about reducing food waste or educate residents about how they can effectively voice their needs to their local and residential representatives to enact lasting change.

In our work, we and the agencies we partner with strive to be solutionaries. Many of the agencies we work with are locally founded and domestically staffed, giving them firsthand knowledge of the challenges their people face, their root causes and how to address them effectively. We actively seek out opportunities to collaborate with organizations that offer long-lasting solutions. Although temporary aid is essential, our ultimate goal is to provide assistance that can uplift people permanently. Humanitarians can only achieve this if we understand the underlying causes of the issues we address.