Selfishness, the good and the bad (Part II of II)
(If you haven’t already, you should read Part I.)
I view selfishness in the same light as 18th Century philosopher/economist Adam Smith. Smith argued in his famous work, The Wealth of Nations, that as individuals seek after their own self interests, economic well-being will be maximized. In fact, I would slightly expand it and say I think all well-being will be maximized.
My readers should not think that I want people to be “selfish” — selfish in the sense that most people view selfishness. I want people to be selfish in the sense that they are concerned primarily in their own self interests. And I do not wish to discount the value of charity. I believe my view of a selfish world would still allow for — even enhance — the power of charity. I explained in Part I how charity is actually a practice of selfishness.
However, I still allow for the possibility that selfishness can be bad. Again, it’s probably not like most people would see it.
A “good, selfish” man will only worry about his own self interests. But by necessity, he will have to be concerned with the interests of those around him. If, for example, he is a salesman, he will have to be friendly and helpful and provide good service to others in order to be successful. Thus, on the one hand, he is being a good person; but on the other, he is doing it for his own self-interest, so he is being selfish.
If a man is a “selfish” person in the normal, worldly sense, he will not care about anyone else. The same salesman will be unkind, think highly of himself, and look down on his customers. Some people might buy from him, but he’ll likely get little or no return business. If he follows on this path of selfishness, he will eventually die or live a miserly life, having no means by which to sustain himself.
Some might think I am merely splitting hairs over the definition of a word. But words are important: “Words are the means to meaning, and for some, the annunciation of truth.”
I would argue that the dictionary definition of selfishness contains a contradiction in terms. According to Webster, selfishness is “seeking or concentrating on one’s own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others.” But as I’ve shown, one cannot concentrate on their own well-being without depending on others.
And that is the key distinction between my view and the worldly view of selfishness. In my mind, the bad kind of selfishness isolates itself to misanthropes, while the good kind of selfishness profits virtually everyone.
I am sad that selfishness gets such a bad rap. Self-interest keeps you alive from day to day. It feeds your children. It grows your community. It has been the selfishness of entrepreneurs, capitalists, and laborers that have made all of our lives easier and have advanced our world beyond living in caves and gathering berries.
Should we not embrace selfishness as a virtue?
April 10th, 2009 at 12:36pm
You need to coin a new word that doesn’t have such a negative connotation and then sell your philosophy. And thank me in the foreward of your book.
April 21st, 2009 at 2:50pm
I generally shy away from moralizing on economics. It’s important, just not something I feel equipped to talk about. I prefer to stay scientific in my discussion of choice and entrepreneurship.
A quote from a recent homework assignment: “It seems many behaviors amicable to social interaction are not motivated by narrow self- ishness. As I objected in class, anyone may give charitably because it makes them feel good, or perform some action in accordance with social norms to avoid feeling poorly; this is not narrow selfishness, according to Caplan. A dictionary definition of selfishness is “regarding oneself above all others,” and under this definition many of the behaviors discussed are not selfish, even if they increase happiness or avoid pain.”
So selfishness is important to understanding human behavior. But its not the universal humanizing characteristic. People are also motivated by altruism, fairness, and vindictiveness. I highly recommend reading Landsburg’s /Fair Play/ for morality and economics done well.