Bloggers realize self-interest isn't everything
Traditional economic models assume that people are self-interested, they do things which are in their financial interest. But at some point, people begin acting for the greater good. This per the New York Times' Robert Frank's article, 'When Self-Interest Isn't Everything.'
Though Frank's article was about the phenomenon of political campaigns driven by supporters' willingness to set narrow self-interest to one side, I couldn't help but think of bloggers publishing content for the greater good. Especially blogging lawyers giving away knowledge they usually sell.
We already have 5 or 10 thousand lawyers engaging in online conversations offering insight and commentary in niche areas of the law. We're accumulating free legal information at speeds never seen before. Thousands of legal blog posts per day is going to turn into tens of thousands of posts by the end of this decade.
Turns out lawyer dissatisfaction with their careers may be the reason why lawyers have chosen to blog for the greater good. It's personal disappointment that gets people to put self-interest aside per Frank's article.
Albert O. Hirschman, an economist at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, was one of the first to grapple seriously with [the concept of participating in something larger than oneself]. In his 1982 book 'Shifting Involvements,' he acknowledges that self-interest indeed appears to be the dominant human motive in some eras. But over time, he argues, many people begin to experience disappointment as they continue to accumulate material goods. When consumption standards escalate, people must work harder just to hold their place. Stress levels rise. People become less willing to devote resources to the public sphere, which begins to deteriorate. Against this backdrop, disenchanted consumers become increasingly receptive to appeals from the organizers of social movements.Eventually, Mr. Hirschman argues, a tipping point is reached. In growing numbers, people peel away from their private rat race to devote energy to collective goals. The free-rider problem ceases to inhibit them, not only because they now assign less value to private consumption, but also because they find satisfaction in the very act of contributing to the common good. Activities viewed as costs by self-interest models are thus seen as benefits instead.
Though Frank's reports a cycle of working for the greater good may only last for 20 years before people resume pursuing private accumulation, I'll take a 20 year wave of lawyer blogging. Not because of my own pecuniary interests, but because blogging is good for lawyers and our society at large.
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Further evidence that we're at the cusp of blended pro-am journalism is New York Times decision to start using videos produced by citizen journalists..png){kind=small}
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