Generosity is a virtue of the human being. But, historically, generosity has never been recognized as essential to the good functioning of our society. Could the absence of generosity be the essence of many of the problems that we face in our daily lives? Could the State awake a sense of generosity in people?

Firstly, we need to be very careful not to treat the theme "generosity" with a religious or even utopian stigma in the world we live in. The Law of Generosity is not a mere abstraction on the theme, but rather a necessary reflection and a concrete proposal to enable us to find new solutions for the serious social problems that we face.

On the one hand, we have groups defending that the State is the main responsible agent in reducing inequality between rich and poor and that increasing the weight of the State, or improving its efficiency, would produce better solutions to deal with our social problems. On the other hand, there are groups defending the reduction of the weight of the State and that the solution to our social problems lies in stimulating private enterprise and offering employment, health, education and safety to citizens, limiting the State to a position of guardian or referee in this process.

Regardless of the pros and cons of a minimal or maximum State, this proposal seeks to demonstrate that the essence of a better functioning of our society lies in improving relationships between people or, more specifically, improving relationships between rich and poor with the State acting as a promoting agent of this link. This is the innovative component that the proposed Law of Generosity brings to the reflection of our society.

In a concrete way, based on the Law of Generosity, a rich person could submit to the State a financial proposal of tax waiver which, once approved, could allow him to act as a Social Academic Tutor or informally a "Sponsor" of a poor child or youth.

As we know, poorest people have no conditions to enroll their children in good schools, a fact that perpetuates inequality of opportunities through generations, one of the main causes of wealth and social inequality. However, as important as providing better education opportunities, is the offer of a greater form of inclusion of poor people in the universe of the rich. A bridge between both worlds. A two-way bridge built on generosity.

But, would it be possible to build a generous bridge between rich and poor? Could generosity or the promotion of generosity, make up the basis of the capitalist system we live in? Indeed, does generosity contrast with capitalism or could it become complementary to it for a fairer distribution of knowledge and wealth?

Once again, we should be very careful not to distort the understanding of the proposal with existing pre-concepts on generosity. In order to allow you to answer these and other questions on this theme more clearly, we have produced a book titled "Law of Generosity: An innovative proposal for the reduction of inequality between rich and poor".

The book enables you to, step by step, deepen your understanding on the subject. In order to facilitate a better understanding of this concept, it is important to first discover the benefits of generosity not only in relation to our fellow-being, but also to ourselves.

Those who believe that generosity is only a good thing for those who receive it are very much mistaken. There are scientific studies that even demonstrate active generosity in a visible form in our brain as a "reward system": the same brain region responsible for pleasures such as eating chocolate, having sex or drug consumption. You will be able to learn more about these studies in the book.

Adam Smith, an important Scottish economist who lived in the 18th century, stated that "economic growth and technological innovation result from the actions of individuals seeking their own interests". Faced with such statement, which served as a basis to the development of our current society, would it not also be possible to transform generosity into something directly bound to our own interest?

In a first instance, the Law of Generosity proposes a tax benefit to allow people to act in a generous manner. But, subsequently, the very feeling of well-being resulting from the practice of generosity tends to become a source of self-interest. Ask anyone you consider essentially generous why he/she acts like that. You will probably receive a simple, unassuming answer that will be directly associated with Adam Smith’s statement: "I seek to be generous because it makes me feel good!"

It is possible that what is missing for many people to become generous is to discover the benefits and sensation of well-being associated with the practice of this virtue. It is in this context that emerges what we call "generosity education", whether in schools in the form of non-cognitive dynamics or through the formatting of a Law aiming at educating people on this virtue and, consequently, initiate a virtuous cycle based on practical examples of generous attitudes.

In other words, the Law of Generosity is neither liberal nor conservative, but rather a more participative action of the State in the welfare of our society. The State as a promoting agent of Generosity in people!

It is important to observe that tax incentive Laws that enable the allocation of funds from natural or legal entities to specific projects, although promoting the participation of private society in social issues, do not necessarily require direct involvement between the proponent and the recipient of the proposal. It is exactly in this context that the Law of Generosity is presented as an innovative proposal capable of establishing a link between rich and poor.

In other words, while assuming the role of Academic-Social Tutor, the proponent is bound by Law to become directly involved with the recipient, moving him/her through a mechanism promoted by the State, from a position of "Indifference" to one of "Recommended Generosity", towards the progressive target of "Full Generosity" or perhaps "Unconditional Generosity", as defined by the Generosity scale proposed in the book and exposed in an illustrative format in the first page of this site.

We can say that the Law of Generosity itself represents an incentive, a tool to stimulate people to practice generosity. A trigger for cultural transformation. But, in order to reach improved efficiency, it is necessary to change our vision of generosity. After all, more than donating money to a social cause, generosity is also learning to relate to the other, assuming responsibilities towards the other, establishing an exchange of positive stimuli between people in a two-way road as demonstrated in chapter 6 of the book addressing the three dimensions of generosity.

We need to be aware of the fact that, much more than redistributing money and resources, the most important thing is to promote the stimuli exchange that occurs when generous interactions take place. After all, everyone wins with generosity!

In the preceding paragraphs, we offered a general overview of the proposal, but in order to facilitate your understanding of the Law of Generosity, how it works and how it can contribute to improve our society, you need to undertake a short journey of discovery. Step by step, you will discover in the book:

• That generosity really is part of our essence, but has never been treated as a priority in the cultural fabric of our society.
• That social inequality is incompatible with truly sustainable development of a country.
• That we still live in a world surrounded by "slaves of inequality", chained due to lack of opportunities.
• That generosity brings benefits in three dimensions: benefits for the agent of generosity, for the receiver of a generous action and for the entire society.
• That there are actual in-depth studies from researchers on the behavioral benefits of generosity for the good functioning of companies: "generosity skill".
• That it is possible to create a culture of generosity, exploring the stages of this virtue and discovering what we call "recommended generosity".
• That we always have a tendency to transfer responsibility over existing social issues to the other, but that, on the other hand, it is necessary that policy-makers offer means and tools to enable us to take part.
• That there are examples of entities and incentive laws that help promoting generosity in Brazil and worldwide.
• A proposal that puts the Law of Generosity into practice with potential fully measurable results.
• Real stories and examples of social transformation born out of generous actions.

When you finish reading the book, you will better understand the direct relationship between: Opportunity, Social Inequality and Generosity. An opportunity that most of our society does not even know the "taste" of. "Social Inequality" which, as it is addressed in the book, is the cause of many social revolts that assault us every day. And "generosity" as a virtue that generates "opportunity" and reduces "inequality".

All of this in the form of a concrete proposal: "The Law of Generosity".