© 2007 - 2010 Allan Cockerill All Rights Reserved
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Pay it forward or paying it forward refers to repaying the good deeds one has received by doing good things for other unrelated people.
Many people mistakenly believe the phrase “pay it forward” as a moral philosophy first appeared in Catherine Ryan Hyde’s novel Pay It Forward, which in 2000 was adapted into a Warner Brothers film, Pay It Forward. Science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein, however, used the phrase in Between Planets, a book published in 1951, almost 50 years before Ryan Hyde’s novel.
Heinlein both preached and practiced this philosophy; now the Heinlein Society, a humanitarian organization founded in his name, does so.
One of the most vocal popularizers of the concept of paying it forward — before Hyde’s book and movie — is probably author Spider Robinson, who made repeated reference to the doctrine, attributing it to his spiritual mentor Heinlein.
In Ryan Hyde’s book and movie it is described as an obligation to do three good deeds for others in repayment of a good deed that one receives. Such good deeds should be things that the other person cannot accomplish on their own. In this way, the need to help one another can spread exponentially through society, creating a social movement with the goal of making the world a better place.
In practice the philosophy of pay it forward has broadened relative to its literary roots, and now stands for a more general social responsibility and desire to help others in recognition of the help one has received for one’s self. It is also sometimes described as being “good for a favor”, meaning a willingness to help others (even strangers) on the expectation that it will all come back around in the end.
The idea of the book has been championed in real life by the Pay It Forward Foundation. The Foundation focuses on bringing the idea of paying it forward to school age children, parents, and educators. The simple idea of doing good works for others to repay the good that has happened to you is one that can easily be conveyed to children and encourages them to be socially aware and take a role in making the world a better place. The main character of the book was a 12-year-old child, thus giving other children someone they can relate to.
In October 2005, Syracuse University’s Residence Hall Association began a Pay It Forward Campaign on campus. It spread on campus rapidly, and was noted for entering mainstream Syracuse society as a result. Many other schools have now begun campaigns such as this as well.
On October 26, 2006 Oprah gave her audience a challenge to Pay it Forward, giving 300 audience guests $1,000 USD on a debit card and a camcorder to record the acts of kindness they did. The rules of the challenge were very specific, the money had to be spent within one week and could only be used to help charitable organizations or an individual person but not a relative.
The idea of “paying it forward”, but without the pyramid scheme-like exponential growth, appears already in a letter from Benjamin Franklin to Benjamin Webb, dated April 22, 1784.
Of course, giving without thought of reward is also a feature of the major religions of the world, so ‘Paying It Forward’, in one way way or another, appears to be a universal principal.
For instance, when Jesus was teaching on ‘loving your neighbor as yourself’, he used the example of a Samaritan, from a nation despised, helping a man who had been beaten and robbed by thieves. The two men in this scenario would have had to have been totally unrelated, and of different ethnic, social and religious backgrounds.
© 2007 - 2010 Allan Cockerill All Rights Reserved
