favors and debts
ethicsComments
If the internal reward is the payment, does that mean a truly selfless act is logically impossible? Or is there a distinction between a payment and a side effect?
The idea that most kindness is a loan falls apart when you look at anonymous acts. If there is no way for the recipient to repay the giver, the interest rate cannot exist.
Even in those anonymous cases, the giver often experiences the warm glow effect. That internal reward functions as a form of payment, which keeps the cycle of kindness moving regardless of a formal debt.
This shifts depending on the cultural framework. In collectivist societies, these debts are often viewed as social glue rather than transactional burdens, which changes the psychological weight of the obligation.
The real issue is when people use kindness as a weapon. Some people just bank favors so they can cash them in for total control over someone else later.