Human value development · Plane 9 of 9

Benevolence: how much you share, and how aware you are of the real impact of your decisions

Plane 9 crosses two questions: do you share resources with others or hoard them? (meanness or altruism) and are you aware of the real emotional impact of your decisions on others? (indifference to impact or affective responsibility).

What

Plane 9 measures how willing you are to share resources with others — with meanness or with altruism — and how aware you are of the real emotional impact of your own decisions on others, with indifference or with real affective responsibility.

Why

Meanness rarely comes from pure malice — it almost always has roots in a real fear of future scarcity, often fed by early experiences of lack, and it can become a self-feeding cycle. Lacking affective responsibility, on the other hand, isn't always deliberate indifference — it often hides behind phrases that sound like honesty ("I'm just being sincere") but that actually avoid taking responsibility for the real emotional harm a decision causes another person.

What for

Recognizing these two mechanisms helps you notice when your own fear of scarcity is limiting your ability to give, and to more precisely tell apart real honesty from honesty used as an excuse to avoid taking responsibility for the impact your decisions have on the people around you.

Horizontal axis — Meanness ↔ Altruism

Traits and behaviors of Meanness:

Resource Hoarding

Fear of Future Scarcity

Emotional Stinginess

Social Avoidance to Save Resources

Systematically Choosing the Cheapest Option

Borrowing Without Reciprocating

Need for Control Through Resources

Self-Feeding Isolation Cycle

Distrust as the Root of Not Sharing

Fear of Intimacy

Weak Interpersonal Bonds

Altruism (UN Volunteers + effective altruism):

Universal Solidarity as the Driver of Altruism

Volunteering as an Active Strength That Precedes and Sustains Material Generosity

Focus on Long-Term Results (Effective Altruism)

Empowerment and Participation, Not Just Assistance

Timely Response in Moments of Crisis

Connecting Local Action to Shared Global Priorities

Restored Trust as a Measurable Outcome, Not Just Hours Given

Vertical axis — Indifference to Impact ↔ Consideration for Others

Behaviors of lacking affective responsibility:

Breaking Agreements Without Explanation

Using "That's Just Who I Am" as an Excuse

Honesty Used to Avoid Responsibility

Denying Implicit Commitment

Disconnect Between Words and Actions

Lack of Awareness of One's Own Emotional Impact

Avoiding Repair for Harm Caused

Extreme Individualism Within the Bond

Minimizing Emotional Harm to Others

Deliberate Ambiguity About the Level of Commitment

Retroactive Justification of Emotional Carelessness

Consideration for others — affective responsibility (UNAM):

Respect for the Other Person and for Oneself

Active Empathy

Keeping Commitments While Considering Their Impact on the Other

Emotional Self-Awareness as a Foundation

Assertive Communication (Neither Aggressive Nor Submissive)

Active Listening and Emotional Validation

Setting Boundaries Without Harming the Other

Consistency Between Words and Actions

Care in Ending a Relationship

Every trait and every behavior has an origin and a concrete way to work through it. You can explore it in depth inside Mentefy. It is $150 MXN per month, VAT included. You create your account first; payment is the next step.

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When scarcity sharpens the pain of seeing what you lack go to waste

When something is scarce for you, seeing someone else have it and not value it — waste it, take it for granted — hurts differently than simply seeing them possess it. It's not just the lack that triggers meanness: it's the perception that that scarce resource is being squandered right in front of you, while it costs you so much to obtain.

"Look with compassion at the other's origin, but with clarity at their decisions. And as you face their actions, watch that your own means don't destroy the values you're trying to defend." — Mentefy's Guiding Principle

← Plane 8 — Bond Back to home →

This is the last of the 9 planes. If you arrived from another part of the series, you can check out any of the other eight, or see how they apply to specific contexts: parenting, relationships, or leadership.

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