Altruism, Egoism and the Wild World of Michael Jackson

So dear reader, you know who Michael Jackson is. He was the king of pop with a career
spanning more than 40 years, and quite possibly a sex offender with a preference for kids. Just
depends on what you’ve seen of him in the media as to what you believe - the narrative of the
tragic star misguided and simply trying his best to help those he sees as the most vulnerable or
the narrative of the manipulative paedophile living a hedonistic lifestyle. Today I will be
comparing the two sides of Jackson, the altruism or the egoism.

So firstly let’s discuss what egoism and altruism are. Starting with the former. Psychological
egoism is the idea that we are ultimately motivated by our own self-interest, that we are selfish
beings. The philosopher Thomas Hobbes states that in “the state of nature there are no laws -
no agreed upon morality”1 meaning that morality in the eyes of the egoist does not exist. Good
and bad mean nothing in terms of actions - self-interest is the only true motivator. That it is “a
war of every man against every man”. This would be considered a hedonistic point of view (one
in pursuit of pleasure, and self-indulgence)

Conversely, psychological altruism2 is the belief that we are deeply selfless beings that act out of
care for one another, that the social bonds we share with one another are the reason for our
selfless actions. The complete opposite of egoism as you might notice. The term altruism was
introduced by Auguste Comte - deriving from the old french “Altrui” and ism, meaning living for
others.

‘So how does this link to Michael Jackson?’ You may be asking. And I don’t blame you, dear
reader. But we’re getting there. Now it’s time to discuss the ideas of Jackson as shown by the
media. The two distinct sides.

One side was the selfless philanthropist who donated hundreds of millions of
dollars to charity - the man who’d visit children desperately ill in hospital with
gifts and pay for their treatment - the man who invited underprivileged children to
his private theme park and zoo. This side was shown by the media more before
the 1992 allegations that were never taken to court by the Chandler family. This
side of Jackson would fit the definition of psychological altruism if you believe his
motivations were genuinely to help care for those around him. However, it can
be argued that he also did these things in an effort to connect to others since he
considered himself “one of the loneliest people in the world”3 as quoted from his 1988 biography
Moonwalk.

On the other hand, as he aged the media began to portray Jackson more
and more as a manipulative predator, whose actions may not have been
as innocent or altruistic as had first been thought. Instead, they were
simply ploys to attract children and their parents to trust him - to let down

1
Metaethics Powerpoint
2
Study on Altruism
3
Moonwalk by Michael Jackson (1988) Page 162
their guard and allow children to be abused and fulfil Jackson's alleged hedonistic desires.
Living as Hobbes quoted in “the state of nature with no laws'' which can be inferred from his
1993 payment of the Chandler family to drop allegations against him. So dear reader, take a
moment to think of what you believe about this man before I present you both sides, then my
metaethical conclusion.

So one argument for the way Jackson acted towards children is the argument that he acted in
an altruistic fashion. Out of genuine care for the children - which would make sense considering
the fact he felt he did not truly have a childhood since he was in the studio
working from a young age, producing records with his brothers as a part of
the Jackson 5. In his book ‘Moonwalk’ he states that he’d look out of the
Motown studio window at a park and see children playing, that he “Couldn’t
imagine such freedom”.4 So perhaps this need to create a safe and happy
place for children in his home comes from this experience of a lack of
freedom. As you could also argue that he saw this lack of freedom in
terminally ill children in hospitals and that is why he’d donate money to fund
their treatment or bring gifts when he visited them. Or in the case of
children in hospital, you can argue his altruism towards them comes from his stint in a burn unit
in 1984 after suffering severe burns to his scalp after an accident in a Pepsi commercial. From
this event, we do know he paid $1.5 million to help establish a burn unit at Brotman Memorial
Hospital5, which would be considered a selfless act considering it was for social good and to
help care for the community.

However, you could argue that these actions all had an ulterior motive. That he used these
seemingly selfless acts to disguise what he was truly doing. ‘And what was he doing?’ you may
be asking. Well dear reader, cast your mind back to 2005 (if you can remember
that far back) to when Jackson was in court to defend himself against 14
charges of various ways of abusing children. Or even think back as recently as
2019 where two previous friends of Jackson (who knew him when they were
children) alleged that he sexually abused them. That his home - Neverland
Ranch - was simply made to lure children to feel safe there, and in turn, allow
him to prey on them. This would definitely fit the definition for egoism, especially
in terms of the quote from Hobbes stating that “in the state of nature there is no
law” which we can perhaps see in his agreement to pay off the accusers he
faced in 1993. That he used his immense wealth to avoid the repercussions of
his actions. Another aspect of Jackson you may know about is his extensive plastic surgery and
his brief stint in rehab in 1993 for a dependency on pain medication. Both of which can be
argued as evidence for a self-interested hedonistic lifestyle based in psychological egoism.

So, dear reader, now it is time for my personal conclusion. Do I think Michael Jackson was an
egoist or an altruist? I think he was a very flawed altruist, often having good intentions with his
actions that were twisted by the media or mistaken for grooming by others. This may be due to

4
Moonwalk By Michael Jackson (1988) Page 9
5
Burn Unit Was Opened, LA Times
his troubled childhood and not being normally socialised due to having a career spanning 45
years by the time he was 50. Or his atypical life. I think Jackson tried to be an altruist but
became a victim of his own intentions and an egoist in the ever-critical eyes of the media, good
intentions with ethically ambiguous outcomes. And that I think is a universal feeling, trying your
best to do what you think is right only to have it be taken the wrong way, or to inadvertently hurt
someone. And that universal feeling is perhaps a part of altruism in some way, social bonds
drawing us together in believing the best of those around us. At least I choose to. What is it you
choose?

Blurb:
You all know him, Michael Jackson, the acclaimed artist with a career spanning 45 years before
his death in 2009, as controversial in life as he was in death. Today we are here to explore
egoism, altruism and the wild world of Michael Jackson (especially his relationship with
children)...