I cannot think of a reason to prefer to help a neighbor over someone who is vastly more in need who is further away. I think that's the main thrust of the argument.
You have a better chance of knowing what would actually help the neighbor. That is, the odds of help actually helping are higher.
I am not saying "don't help those who are far away". But you can make a case for giving greater emphasis to helping those who are closer to you purely on effectiveness grounds.
In my mind the arguments for it are
- by helping your neighbor you strengthen your own community, hopefully benefitting yourself and your family
- you don’t have the same understanding of the needs of a community further away. You won’t be able to directly observe the impact of your actions (positive or negative)
