“Cooperation,” the Harvard Universitybiologist Martin Nowak has written, is “the architect of creativity throughoutevolution, from cells to multicellular creatures to anthills to villages tocities.” As mankind now tries to solve new, global challenges, we must alsofind new ways to cooperate. The basis for this cooperation must be altruism.

The desire to help others without considerationfor ourselves is not just a noble ideal. Selflessness raises the quality andelevates the meaning of our lives, and that of our descendants; in fact, ourvery survival may even depend on it. We must have the insight to recognizethis, and the audacity to say so.

Humanity faces three monumental challenges: ensuring everyonedecent living conditions, improving life satisfaction, and protecting ourplanet. Traditional cost-benefit analysis struggles to reconcile these demands,because they span different time frames. We worry about the state of the economyfrom year to year; but we consider our happiness over the course of a lifetime,while our concern for the environment will mainly benefit future generations.

But an altruistic approach requires few trade-offs. Aconsiderate investor will never speculate recklessly with his clients’ lifesavings, despite the potential gain for himself. A caring citizen will alwaysthink first how his actions affect his community. A selfless generation willexercise care with the planet, precisely in order to leave a livable world toits children. Altruism makes us all better off.

This vision of the world may seem idealistic.After all, psychology, economics, and evolutionary biology have often claimedthat humans share an essentially selfish nature. But research over the past 30years indicates that true altruism does exist and can extend beyond kin andcommunity to encompass the welfare of humans generally – and that of otherspecies. Moreover, the altruist does not have to suffer for his good deeds; onthe contrary, he often benefits indirectly from them, while the selfish actoroften creates misery for himself as well as others.

Studies have also shown that an individual canlearn to be altruistic. Neuroscientists have identified three components ofaltruism that anyone can develop as acquired skills: empathy (understanding and sharing thefeelings of another), loving kindness (the wish to spread happiness), andcompassion (a desire to relieve the suffering of another).

Societies, too, can become more altruistic (andmay even enjoy an evolutionary advantage over their more selfish counterparts).Research on the evolution of cultures suggests that human values can changemore quickly than our genes. Thus, if we are to engender a more caring world,we must first recognize the importance of altruism – and then cultivate itamong individuals and promote cultural change in our societies.

Nowhere is the need to cultivate thisrecognition clearer than it is in our economic system. The unrealistic pursuitof endless quantitative growth places intolerable strains on our planet andwidens inequalities. But reversing that growth would create other problems;forcing people to compete for diminishing assets and resources would spreadunemployment, poverty, and even violence.

So a balance must be struck: the globalcommunity must lift 1.5 billion people out of poverty, while the excesses ofthe world’s richest consumers – which cause the vast majority of ecologicaldegradation – must be limited. We need not impose more taxes to achieve this,but we can persuade the wealthy that the eternal pursuit of material gain isboth unsustainable and unnecessary for their own quality of life.

This concept of “sustainable harmony” can bepromoted by publishing indicesof personal well-being and environmental preservation, alongside standard GDPdata. The government of Bhutan, for example, already accounts for the “socialwealth” and “natural wealth” of its people, in addition to its GDP figures.

We could also establish a stock exchange,alongside traditional securities markets, comprising so-called ethicalorganizations, such as social enterprises, cooperative banks, microcreditagencies, and fair-trade groups. Several initiatives – for example, in Brazil,South Africa, and the United Kingdom – have already taken small steps in thisdirection.

Small steps lead to big changes. As the value ofaltruism becomes increasingly obvious, the new approach will spread through theeconomy, benefiting all of society, future generations, and the planet, too.