A few hours ago I went to a deli and purchased a delicious kebab roll and orange juice blended with ginger. The lady charged me £5.20 and I paid with £10. She then gave me £4.80 and a £5 note of change. Now, even in my sleep deprived state(I had a deadline recently...), I noticed the anomaly, to put it lightly.
The moment of choice occured to me, and I chose to inform her. Now aside of sheer benevolence, I couldn't help but think that there were other factors involved in this action. I quite like this Deli the 2 people I've met who work there(husband and wife) are very personable, the food is comparatively cheap(at least for London) and freshly prepared. I realised that these people going out of business would affect my welfare in a way more proportionately than any short term fraudulent gain of £5 for me. I even tried briefly explaining this thought to the lady at the counter, though I'm not sure she captured my point while glowing with gratefulness.
I couldn't help but think, to what extent do you feel these types of actions commonly accrued to benevolence can actually be drawn from a sensible form of self interest(informed by time preference and even rudimentary economic reasoning)? Also, how do you think such a sociological characteristic could be encouraged to grow?
"When the King is far the people are happy." Chinese proverb
For Alexander Zinoviev and the free market there is a shared delight:
"Where there are problems there is life."
This is the kind of thing forums like this were made for. That's a really good question.
I'm not really sure of the answer, but I think you may be giving people too much credit. As you said, even when you tried to explain it to the woman she didn't get it. I highly doubt that even on a subconscious level people are thinking in their own long-term economic self-interest when they act in benevolence at least in this type of situation. I sincerely doubt most of the government growth and regulations would not stand if people had the mind that you're talking about. I think most people think wealth is about money and that businesses have it, and they personally do not...and that 5 quid is not going to make anywhere near as much difference to them as it would to you (as discussed here.)
By the same token, I do not believe that someone who actually does give the money back as you did has a better understanding of economics and is thinking in those terms. I think the much more likely explanation is that they understand basic "right and wrong" and it is much more of a moral question than anything else. I personally think things like that are more than anything a product of how you are raised. Now, you might make the case that even that is in self-interest because there is some form of impending guilt that they wish to avoid...and that may very well play a factor.
Finally, the reason I made the qualifier "in this type of sitution" is because when it comes to benevolence in a much more personal sense...as in dealing with a person or a non-profit organization, I think people do think about themselves. As noted in this Stossel segment on charity, poorer people tend to give more because they believe they are likely to need it themselves at some point.
abskebabs: I couldn't help but think, to what extent do you feel these types of actions commonly accrued to benevolence can actually be drawn from a sensible form of self interest(informed by time preference and even rudimentary economic reasoning)?
I couldn't help but think, to what extent do you feel these types of actions commonly accrued to benevolence can actually be drawn from a sensible form of self interest(informed by time preference and even rudimentary economic reasoning)?
When a salesperson hands you back too much money, it is likely that the person receiving it realizes this. So if you walk away with that money and the seller realizes the error after that point, there is a strong suspicion raised that you are not an honest person. This seems a reason of self-interest not to be associated with that and give the money back.
On the flip-side, if you give the money back, you are displaying a strong sign that you value the agreement, and (like you said) their business, and also the clerk not getting in trouble with their boss (or whatever the business structure is). All of these are an avoidance of psychic loss and a sign of cooperation which will lead them to treat you very well in the future (both as a person and as a customer).