If the road to ruin is paved with good intentions, then volunteerism is one of the major cobblestones along the way.

Trouble brews in the economic and ethical sectors for both giver and receiver. On the surface, it seems harmless for a group of kids from one country to pack up suitcases with mosquito repellent and Gatorade and trek off to a third world country to build a house and eat rice for three weeks. The groups that organize these trips have thousands of volunteers off in the wilderness, fighting depravity and ameliorating living conditions.

What people don’t consider, though, is that while they’re doing their “good deed” someone else who actually needs the work isn’t getting the pay.

Volunteer groups aren’t skilled workers, so it takes time to train them. They end up using more resources than a professional would. It’s comparative to outsourcing all the customer service jobs to India; you end up with a heavily accented guy giving you a sales pitch on ring-tones when all you want is technical support. Yes, he is well-meaning, but you end up wanting to strangle him.

Delving deeper into the pitfalls of philanthropy unearths other issues. Some organizations will refuse aid to a country until its government adopts certain policies. This practice breaches sovereignty—the right for a government to control its country. Governments are forced to accept these changes in return for aid. Policy reform also hurts economic growth because countries must choose between growth and receiving aid.

Suspicion can also arise when an outside government works with an organization to influence the country in need. This situation is reminiscent of the United States’ Platt Amendment in Cuba, a policy which forced Cuba to amend its constitution in return for America ending its military presence. The amendment was rescinded during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbor Policy.” History has already set the example for us—we just need to follow it.

The ethical controversy of volunteerism is the imposition of American values upon other countries. It’s very instinctive to say that we’re ethically bound by democracy to do what is best for other people, but it comes across as arrogant and self-righteous. Ivan Ilich, a strong critic of volunteering abroad, once addressed a group Mexico-bound volunteers in this way: “I am here to entreat you to use your money, your status and your education to travel in Latin America. Come to look, come to climb our mountains, to enjoy our flowers. Come to study. But do not come to help.”

—Abraham, a junior, is a reporter.