Mediterranean migrant crisis: Where has Britain's altruism gone?
We all possess two natures. One is egotistical. It focuses on external success: security, comfort, wealth and status. The other is altruistic. It strives for inner fulfilment and values love and virtues such as compassion, kindness, honesty and loyalty. We thrive when we keep these two sides of our nature in balance. But, argues the American intellectual David Brooks in his new book The Road to Character, we live in a culture that encourages us to think about the external side of our natures rather than our inner selves.