1 Lisa Ann Richey Department of Management, Society and Communication Copenhagen Business School lri.msc@cbs.dk Roberta Hawkins Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics University of Guelph rhawkins@uoguelph.ca Michael K. Goodman Department of Geography and Environmental Science University of Reading m.k.goodman@reading.ac.uk *This work was supported by Samfund og Erhverv, Det Frie Forskningsråd [6109-00158]. Published in World Development, Vol 145 as part of a SI on Commodifying Humananitarian Sentiments https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105537 Why Are Humanitarian Sentiments Profitable and What does this Mean for Global Development? 1. Introduction Feeling helpful through actions meant to alleviate the suffering of distant others is a recently marketable commodity with a considerable history. In the late 18th century, the ethical subject was democratized as ‘more and more people came to believe it was their obligation to ameliorate and prevent wrongdoing to others’ (Laqueur, 2009, p. 37). This provoked significant debate over the janus-faced nature of humanitarian sentiments and the kinds of actions they foster. ‘Sentimental feelings for distant strangers can bind us to suffering at home for all sorts of self-serving reasons’ distorting humanitarian relief and development interventions to follow the ‘topography of observable suffering’ (Watenpaugh, 2015, 213). While seemingly inspiring actions that are well-intentioned, worthy and prioritizing the needs of others, these humanitarian sentiments often have the effect of disempowering the people on whose benefit the actions are predicated. We three have researched, analyzed and critiqued various aspects of the commodification of care, compassion and sentiment. In particular, we have explored the uses of affect in the ‘reputation-washing’ of some of the world’s largest corporate and celebrity actors and the papering over of the need for larger, structural change effected by the mediated hype of these ‘caring commodity’ networks (Goodman, 2010; Hawkins, 2011; Hawkins, 2018; Richey & Ponte, 2011; Goodman et al., 2012; Doyle et al., 2019; Budabin & Richey, 2021). But what if these powerful drives, desires and views of how global problems can be solved through everyday human action were actually designed and deployed to make a profit for the actors who could harness them? And what if these for-profit actors were invited into partnership with non-profit partners, and specifically authorized by the international community as the way to promote global development in an interconnected world?