[p2p-research] Extreme do-gooders – what makes them tick? | csmonitor.com

[Paul D. Fernhout]

"Extreme do-gooders – what makes them tick?"
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0907/p02s05-lign.html
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 From protecting our natural environment to improving our children's 
education to combating global poverty and disease, we've come to rely on 
extreme do-gooders to tackle the world's toughest problems. And they're 
happy to do so, even though their dedication will cost them in the long run. 
Few of them will make as much as they could in the private sector. They may 
lose a relationship with a loved one to their work, or miss their kids' big 
moments.
   All of which raises the obvious: Why? What makes these people tick, and 
how do they sustain a lifetime of commitment to a change that might take 
generations to see?
   "We call it a moment of obligation," says Lara Galinsky, of the Echoing 
Green Foundation, whose 471 fellows have raised more than $1 billion for 
their causes since 1987. "It's usually not a dramatic moment; it's a 
gathering of moments, but it's very clear. It's when something gathers such 
force that you can't ignore it."
   It doesn't happen that often. There is only 1 social entrepreneur for 
every 10 million of the rest of us, according to calculations of Ashoka, an 
organization that funds social entrepreneurs around the world. Ashoka 
founder Bill Drayton bases his calculations on nearly 30 years' worth of 
seeking out the elusive combination of vision and passion that social 
entrepreneurs put into practice.
   "The core defining element is that they simply cannot come to rest ... 
until their dream has become a new pattern across all of society," says Mr. 
Drayton. "This is very different from everyone else: the scholar or the 
artist expresses an idea, and they're happy. The manager ... make[s] the 
company work. The social worker, the professional help people ... make their 
lives better. None of that would remotely satisfy the social entrepreneur. 
Their job is to change the system."
   ...
   For every extreme do-gooder, there are probably – thankfully – uncounted 
others who want to see social change, sharing their talents and time at a 
pace most of us can handle. There are, Dr. Etzioni says, "millions of people 
who make a contribution despite the fact that they have many other duties 
... [by] going and bringing orphans into our home, doing community service, 
teaching people to read, being a pal. There are hundreds of ways we do that."
"""

--Paul Fernhout
http://www.pdfernhout.net/