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The law of unintended consequece, vis: "For every intended consequence you intend, there will be three that you didn't, and two will likely be bad," applies across the board, not just to people doing things out of the goodness of their hearts.
Now, given that sometimes it will backfire because of this law, altruism is, at its most cynical, a benign form of PR. Enlightened self interest and all that.
Now, if that doctor hadn't saved Hitler, how much larger would Idi Amin and Pol Pot loom in our minds? Stalin? We could have had a hot war instead of a cold one. The monsters are out there, and there's no telling when they'll get elected to run the place.
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Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns.
Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.
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