Pathological Altruism and Pathological Regulation

A concept recently developed by scholars in psychology and biology is “pathological altruism.” (Oakley 2013, Oakley et al. 2012). A pathological altruist is defined as “a person who sincerely engages in what he or she intends to be altruistic acts, but who harms the very person or group he or she is trying to help, often in unanticipated fashion; or harms others; or irrationally becomes a victim of his or her own altruistic actions.” (Oakley, Knafo, and McGrath 2012: 4). We may relate this concept to Buchanan’s Samaritan’s dilemma: Buchanan’s Samaritan is the altruist, and the pathology is that the recipient will be in the “no work” cell, so that the Samaritan becomes a victim of his own altruistic actions (Buchanan 1975). So far as I know, this concept has not yet been used in economics. However, it can become an extremely useful tool for economists, and particularly public choice economists. This is because there are many public policies that are harmful in one or more of the senses above, and yet which are supported by well-meaning citizens and voters. The notion of pathological altruism is by no means a complete explanation for undesirable special interest legislation or regulation. However, it can be a valuable additional tool in the economist’s toolkit for explaining such legislation. This is because if an interest group can harness the altruistic beliefs of voters, it will be more successful in obtaining the benefits it desires. Because of voters’ limited