This concept has been around since 317 BC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay_it_forward#History
Just thought the world should know that.
It's actually a variant of the Golden Rule http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rule (interesting reading) - 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' It's a form of reciprocity, not 'an eye for an eye,' but an altruistic reciprocity, which goes further back than ancient civilizations all around the world.
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