> > What I'm saying is that it's possible to love yourself and serve yourself while still making things better for everyone without any kind of contradiction in motivation.
I think I was just trying to make a very narrow point, which is that our society does not actually perfectly align self interest with group interest, and so truly selfish agents would actually wreak havok.
You're saying it's possible to serve both at the same time, but purely selfish agents wouldn't care about that, which is why I don't think it's a good idea to encourage pure selfishness.
> The meaning of selfishness changes when a person sees the people and things around them as an essential part of themselves.
Yes, but that's generally not what people would hear if you tell them 'love yourself first'. Randian Objectivists seem like a bunch of selfish assholes to me :)
> For a perfect example of this, look at Soviet propaganda, always emphasizing sacrifice for the greater global workers' struggle.
It's human nature to look towards selfish interests first. It's completely natural that states, which need to mobilize people to work together, would urge otherwise.
The genius of modern capitalism is that it claims we can have our cake and eat it too -- look towards your own interests, and you will also benefit society. What people have forgotten is that is only true within a framework where capitalism is tightly constrained and controlled.
I think I was just trying to make a very narrow point, which is that our society does not actually perfectly align self interest with group interest, and so truly selfish agents would actually wreak havok.
You're saying it's possible to serve both at the same time, but purely selfish agents wouldn't care about that, which is why I don't think it's a good idea to encourage pure selfishness.
> The meaning of selfishness changes when a person sees the people and things around them as an essential part of themselves.
Yes, but that's generally not what people would hear if you tell them 'love yourself first'. Randian Objectivists seem like a bunch of selfish assholes to me :)
> For a perfect example of this, look at Soviet propaganda, always emphasizing sacrifice for the greater global workers' struggle.
It's human nature to look towards selfish interests first. It's completely natural that states, which need to mobilize people to work together, would urge otherwise.
The genius of modern capitalism is that it claims we can have our cake and eat it too -- look towards your own interests, and you will also benefit society. What people have forgotten is that is only true within a framework where capitalism is tightly constrained and controlled.