On the Brink of the Death of Altruism in Iran

The observation of people in Tehran witnessing murders in the streets, the attendance of thousands at public executions, the lack of response to the beating of women for not adhering to the government's hijab requirements by law enforcement and the Basij, the indifference to the self-immolation of street vendors, and the ease with which people walk past frozen corpses in the streets, among many other examples, indicates a serious event in Iranian society. Such behaviors were unimaginable in the 1960s and 1970s. This indifference, alongside the lack of activity in organizations and social engagements, signifies a dismissal of altruism and brotherhood (the 'other' cannot be defined solely as family members; the 'other' is a person with whom we do not share blood ties or kinship. However, signs of the decline of altruism extending into familial realms are also observable). How can this transformation in Iranian society be explained? The balance between selfishness and altruism has been disrupted. The survival of any society depends on the simultaneous and parallel existence of selfishness and altruism. The instinct for individual survival is a necessary condition for the continuity of a society, but it is not sufficient. Individuals living in a society must have a sense of altruism and brotherhood to support each other in difficult times and to help each other thrive in easier times for the well-being and mutual enhancement of knowledge, wealth, and societal welfare. If only selfishness exists, a society will not form, or if it does, it will soon perish. Successful societies are those that find optimal points between individualism and the common good to maximize individual efforts for wealth, status, and power while also maximizing resources for shaping public infrastructure. For example, if humans have managed to control the food chain on Earth, it is not due to their competition but rather their cooperation. Four decades of government repression and violence, facilitated by the presence of Islamists in power and in paramilitary institutions, have pushed individuals towards focusing on personal survival rather than cooperation and compassion. Severe repression in Iranian society has made self-preservation synonymous with neglecting others, as intervening in violence and cruelty often leads to becoming a victim of the circumstances. Signs of weakening social bonds in Iran include a significant decline in altruism and brotherhood. This decline can be illustrated in three aspects: social participation, charity, and volunteer activity. According to survey results, Iranian men spend an average of 2 hours and 54 minutes daily on work activities, while women spend 39 minutes. Men dedicate 1 hour and 17 minutes to household chores, and women spend 5 hours and 25 minutes. Men learn for 12 minutes a day, and women for 15 minutes. Men engage in leisure for 29 minutes, and women for 14 minutes. Men exercise for 20 minutes daily, and women for 12 minutes. Finally, men spend 2 hours and 20 minutes on mass media, while women spend 2 hours and 10 minutes. However, what is astonishing is the statistics regarding voluntary and charitable activities, which amount to a mere 2 minutes for men (1 minute for volunteer activity and 1 minute for social participation) and 4 minutes for women throughout the day. This statistic becomes significant when placed alongside the considerable time spent on personal care (eating, sleeping, and resting); men spend 13 hours and 26 minutes on personal care daily, and women spend 13 hours and 50 minutes (Iran Statistical Center, April 10, 2016). Charity is nearly nonexistent. The most important charitable institution in Iran is the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation. From 2004 to 2013, an average of 600,000 new charity boxes were installed in the country each year. In 2004, the total number of installed boxes exceeded 2 million and 650 thousand, including various small, medium, and large boxes. According to officials from the Relief Foundation, this number increased to over 7 million and 500 thousand ten years later. In that year, 4.5 million people were covered by the Relief Foundation, in addition to 3 million who used its services on an ad-hoc basis (Head of the Relief Foundation, IRNA, December 19, 2013). Thus, there was one box for every person receiving assistance or help. Considering the announcement of a monthly collection of 15 billion tomans from these boxes nationwide in that year (Deputy of Public Participation of the Relief Foundation, Asr Iran, December 1, 2013), the average withdrawal from each box was 2,000 tomans per month. Based on 2,000 tomans per box, each individual's share of the collected alms nationwide amounts to 2,000 tomans per month, which is about 65 cents. Two thousand tomans today is an amount that two people might place in the palm of a beggar on the street, and this amount for a box over a month means nothing. There is no available data on the amount of street donations either. The remainder of the assistance to families supported by the Relief Foundation (i.e., 95% of the rest) is paid by the government. When Ali Khamenei, with hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth and tens of billions of dollars in income from institutions under the leadership apparatus, donates 20 million tomans for housing the underprivileged and 20 million tomans to the needy at the onset of Nowruz, what expectations can be had from other wealthy individuals? Other senior clerics in the country generally do not participate in charitable activities. In this context, phenomena like the 'Kindness Wall' are primarily symptoms of illness rather than solutions. The few walls that have formed in Iran for exchanging clothes serve more to display altruism than to remedy the lack of it in society. The indifference and neglect towards others are so deep and widespread that a few walls for exchanging old clothes act like a few drops of water in reviving the drying Urmia Lake. Another manifestation of altruism without the pretense of volunteer activity in public institutions is the mission to help others. In Iran, there is essentially no channel for volunteer activity, and such activities have not become a part of people's lives. Organizations and institutions like the fire department, emergency services, and schools are not local organizations accessible to the public, where people can volunteer to help their neighborhood and region. These organizations do not have a framework for accepting volunteers. In defense and emergency activities, volunteers also do not play a serious role. In the early years of the war, there were frameworks for volunteer activities, but the government turned them into non-voluntary activities. The Basij was initially an organization for voluntary activities, but after a few years, salaries and benefits were introduced for participation. In the early years of the Islamic Republic, participation at polling stations and monitoring the vote counting was a voluntary activity, but the government gradually turned it into a paid job. Volunteer activity within the framework of the Construction Jihad also had a very short lifespan, as the Construction Jihad quickly hired its young volunteers.