The Selfish Genie: A Satirical Essay on Selflessness

With this funny yet profound and thought-provoking essay, Mokokoma Mokhonoana scrutinizes the idea of selflessness. Don't get him wrong. He, like most sane human beings, thinks that selflessness is a beautiful thing. Having said that, Mokokoma, unlike most sane human beings, thinks that it is humanely impossible to be selfless. As a matter of fact, he strongly believes that we human beings are inherently selfish-we always put ourselves first, even when we seemingly put others before ourselves. Reading this essay will make you realize that there is nothing special about good people: they are just ordinary people who happen to use others through being, or pretending to be, good people.