The hypothesis of psychological egoism is a commonplace in disciplines like economics, psychology, and biology. As an explanatory model it includes prosocial behaviour such as providing aid for distant strangers. But the inclusion of self-interest in humanitarian appeals can prove difficult because the moral economy of charitable work is regulated by different standards than the liberal market economy. This paper analyses the use of self-interest in appeals for humanitarian aid during the Russian famine of 1921–23 through the lens of modern philanthropic studies, while simultaneously assessing theories of philanthropic behaviour from a historical perspective. It points out the need for the systematic inclusion of historical experience in philanthropic research and concludes that the specific conditions surrounding the international campaign favoured the widespread use of appeals to donors' self-interest. An ideal–typical categorisation of such appeals into four groups—national, economic, group-specific, and psychological—is proposed as an analytical tool for similar studies.

中文翻译：

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通过帮助他人来帮助自己：1921-23 年俄罗斯饥荒救济呼吁中的自身利益

心理利己主义假设在经济学、心理学和生物学等学科中很常见。作为一个解释模型，它包括亲社会行为，例如为遥远的陌生人提供帮助。但是，将自身利益纳入人道主义呼吁可能会被证明是困难的，因为慈善工作的道德经济受到与自由市场经济不同的标准的监管。本文通过现代慈善研究的视角分析了在 1921-23 年俄罗斯饥荒期间利用自身利益呼吁人道主义援助，同时从历史角度评估慈善行为理论。它指出了将历史经验系统地纳入慈善研究的必要性，并得出结论认为，围绕国际运动的具体条件有利于广泛使用呼吁捐助者自身利益的呼吁。建议将此类诉求理想的典型分类为四类——国家、经济、特定群体和心理——作为类似研究的分析工具。