I feel like I'd be considered a bad person for thinking this. And I can't really imagine anyone agreeing with me, just cause our society is so geared towards thinking the opposite. But.
I feel like people should take care of their needs before other people SOMETIMES (but most of the times) BUT STILL ONLY SOMETIMES.
I'll break it down.
Regular everyday people we encounter (you, me, our friends)... we shouldn't really put taking care of them before us. Because we know what we need. I'll put this into a very very very low-stakes example. You go the mall. Okay? And you go there to pick out an outfit that you really like. Basically, you want to pick out the one outfit that, after you've seen all the clothes there are to offer, you would like the best. So you go and you look at all the clothes and you decide on an outfit. Now if someone else had gone to the mall FOR YOU to pick a favorite outfit out FOR YOU, what are the odds that they would pick the same exact outfit? They'd probably pick another outfit, maybe something you like but don't like as *much* or something that's out of your normal style that gives you a nice challenge that you like, but it won't be what you chose.
I'm not saying at ALL that we shouldn't constantly invest in helping people. Cause we need help. We just have to ask for it. I think it's one person's own responsibility, if they are capable of it, to recognize when and where they need help, and to ask for it.
I'll acknowledge arguments now.
Sometimes people don't know that they need help. In these cases, you do help them out. Still looking out for each other.
Sometimes people can't ask for help themselves, or they really don't have the resources to cover their needs. These people might be children, might be homeless people, might be individuals with disabilities... it's privilege to be able to manage on your own until you have to ask for help. I'd say it's a privilege a lot of people have, though.
I'll wrap here. That wasn't a complete thought, I guess. Lots of holes in it. I'd just like to clarify one thing: I'm not against helping people. It's just that I think that it would be more efficient if, instead of me guessing what you need, for you to catch me when you need help... just let me know what to do, and I'm there.
