16 | The Value of Being Human 2015

The dimensions of social attitudesOur framework has identified a number of core dimensions in how people feel about social good. These are based on the extent of agreement, on a scale, to a number of attitudinal statements. Here, we show a few examples of the statements which relate to each of these underlying scales.

Social/Financial BalanceI wouldn’t mind locking up my wealth for long periods in an impact investment.

With an impact investment I would accept a lower financial return than I could obtain with a traditional investment.

Moral DutyI have a responsibility to make the world a better place.

Personal SatisfactionI like helping others because it gives me a sense of control.

Philanthropic OrientationI would prefer using some of my returns from traditional investments to donate to charities directly, rather than making impact investments.

Financial SecurityMy main responsibility is to myself and my family.

Chart 6: The continuum between pure financial investment and pure philanthropy. To make impact investment successful, it will be essential to unlock the middle layers between these two extremes, which are investments but may require accepting some financial cost.

Whole universe: investments and donations

Of these... those which require the investor to

forego something

Of these... those which are not socially harmful

Of these... those which will result in

expected loss of capital

Of these... those that deliver additional social good (not just

traditional investments)

Full Philanthropy

Our framework has identified a number of core dimensions in how people feel about social good