Altruism Without Trying

What if "selling out" is actually the best way to save the world?

Ask a young person who wants to make a difference where to work, and the answer is almost always the same: a nonprofit, or maybe government. Business comes in at a distant third. It’s seen as the path of “greed,” of “compromised integrity,” of “giving up” on your ideals.

But these notions aren’t simply naïve; they’re flat-out wrong—and dangerous.

That’s why entrepreneur and CEO Joel Trammell and economist Peter Jacobsen have written this book: to set the record straight.

Young Americans are on a dangerous path. In 2010, they viewed capitalism favorably by a 46-point margin. By 2025, that number had collapsed into a net negative. Yet over the past two centuries, free markets have done more to uplift people, cure disease, feed the world’s hungry, and even fight pollution than every charity and government program combined.

How? Charitable redistribution of wealth isn’t enough. Wealth must first be created—and that’s exactly what for-profit businesses do best.

Altruism Without Trying is a clear-eyed, accessible guide to the three paths anyone can take to improve the world—business, government, and nonprofit—and provides an honest look at what each can (and can’t) accomplish. If you are a student or young professional wondering what to do with your life—or if you are a parent, teacher, or mentor guiding a young person—you have to read this book.