You don't often hear the word "altruism" these days. Many people, particularly in the media, are now so steeped in cynicism that they hardly believe it possible that in any endeavour, a person can simply have the interests of others at heart. They imagine that altruism does not exist at all.
It was of interest therefore that Mr Haughey told the Moriarty Tribunal the other day that the people who made donations to him over the years were "public-spirited, altruistic" people, though he repeatedly professed not to know the identity of any of them. As our reporter dryly commented, Mr Haughey talks as if he is constantly affronted by the cynicism which exists in the world.
Similarly, Mr Haughey was adamant that his financial adviser, the late Mr Des Traynor, was only interested in helping his country: "He was always very insistent that he was not a political person and that in so far that he would make any sort of contribution to our country's affairs, it would be through relieving me of financial responsibilities and handling them himself. He felt that was the best way he could contribute to this country's well-being."
The media gloss here has been that Mr Haughey is not in the least affronted by the cynicism which exists in the world, and that he is merely putting on an act. That is as may be. But are there people who are genuinely affronted by the world's cynicism? Indeed there are.
They are the altruists, who by their actions attempt to counteract the world's negativity. But who are they and where are they? The first difficulty is in finding them, and the second is in getting them to talk about altruism, because people who are genuinely altruistic are unlikely to use the word, or even to know it. This is not to say they are all simple folk, though lots of them are.
After a long and difficult search, I finally tracked down a typical Irish altruist to his small and indeed rather ramshackle bungalow on a lake shore three miles west of Ballyhaunis.
He ("He" is not his real name) is far from the typical notion of the altruist as wealthy entrepreneur, cultured and generous, sophisticated and travelled. He is in fact a person of simple lifestyle and faith, who believes everything he reads in the papers, often including the horoscopes (but excluding the weather forecast). Though his wife died some years ago and his children have all left home, he thinks life is still good. He accepts people as he finds them, is surprised if he is ever cheated, lied to, betrayed or let down. Though he is known to have once bluffed successfully at poker (and never successfully again), he cannot connive to save his life, is hopeless at dissembling, invariably gets into trouble when he speaks his mind (usually on local affairs), trusts in everyone including the police and the judiciary, and displays no interest whatsoever in personal, workplace or other politics. He does not easily get upset, but would certainly do if it were suggested that he was not a public-spirited person contributing to his country's well-being. He is not thought of particularly highly by his neighbours (and the compliment is returned). At best he is regarded as a decent sort, harmless and good natured. By others he is written off rather cruelly (and, in fact, inaccurately) as a credulous fool, a dupe, a loser and a little person.
When I asked him straight out if he was an altruist, he asked me if I was a Jehovah's Witness. Fair enough, I thought. I would expect a man to admit to atheism before altruism, otherwise the thing would be contradictory.
Though he does not know it, he and his like have been the mainstays of Mr Haughey's support over his years in power. The implications in Mr Haughey's remarks are that the "public-spirited, altruistic" people who contributed to the maintenance of his lifestyle were not (or not merely) wealthy friends or favour-seekers, but all kinds of ordinary people up and down the country who quietly dug deep into not-too-well-lined pockets in order to let their elected leader get on with the crucial business of running the country without having to worry about petty personal finances. They did this, of course. Most of us contributed wordlessly, though hardly painlessly, through our taxes, to this maintenance, to the posturing and the pomp. However, altruists almost by definition make their donations and gestures in secret, and the key point is that the beneficiary does not know who the benefactor is. In Mr Haughey's case, the beneficiary knew precisely where the bounty came from, but it was the benefactors who were left in the dark. This is altruism turned on its head. And to call it such is not cynicism, but logic.