It’s counter-intuitive thinking, but it’s been my observation that often there is not strength in numbers, but weakness.

For example, suppose you want to help “the poor.” Rather than waste time becoming involved in the muddled bureaucracy of some organization where you would have to confer with others over such questions as who qualifies as “poor” and what, precisely, should be done for such people, it’s a whole lot easier, faster, and more efficient to make all of those decisions unilaterally and take immediate action yourself.

All you would need to do is decide which person or persons you deem to be poor, then decide how much of your OWN money you would like to give them. In fact, you could personally deliver the money to them — no middleman necessary. And just think, you could do all this without having to stop and consult anyone else.

Having accomplished your objective, you could then go on to other pursuits without harassing friends, neighbors, or strangers about your charitable beliefs. Simple, efficient, immediate results — the kind of results that are all but impossible to achieve through group action.

This is especially true if the group happens to be, or is involved with, the government.