Learn English – word that describes someone with a “false sense of doing good”

single-word-requests

You get the so called "do-gooders". Some of them are misled by incorrect information so they have a false sense of doing good. Here is an example: Someone that recycles paper thinks that they are saving trees. In fact they reduce demand for trees resulting in forestry companies planting less trees so the opposite actually happens in practice. They have false "Greenpeace" images in their mind of age old natural forests that are destroyed to make paper. Some people will listen to reason and change their opinion. Others however will insist that they are right since you are destroying their "feel good" emotion. I suspect that they actually have a psychological problem. I am looking for a word that describes such a person.

Best Answer

In the UK, we refer to people who mistakenly think they are being helpful as:

well meaning or well-meaning(adj.):

  • wanting to have a good effect, but not always producing one

'I know he's well meaning, but I wish he'd leave us alone.'

Source: CDO

  • having or indicating good or benevolent intentions, usually with unfortunate results

'He is a well-meaning but ineffectual leader.'

Source: Collins

'Well-meaning' people are usually full of enthusiasm for their pet project(s) and feel sure they are doing good, even when the evidence indicates otherwise. They do not necessarily lack intelligence; it's as if they wear blinkers and are unable to sense the shock and disappointment in others who have been on the receiving end of their 'assistance'.

I suspect a mild form of this tendency lurks within us all, as changing deeply held convictions is hard, but more extreme behaviours may indicate a psychological problem, perhaps stemming from low self-esteem.

In the UK, when you hear someone say, 'S/he meant well...', and just go silent, you know exactly what it means!

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