[quote=surveyor]flu, not sure your /sarcasm is off but here goes:
“The American founders believed, and capitalism rests on the belief, that people are driven by “self-interest” and the desire to better our condition. Self-interest is not necessarily bad; in fact, Smith believed, and capitalism presupposes, that the general welfare depends on allowing an individual to pursue his self-interest “as long as he does not violate the laws of justice.” When a person acts in his own interest, “he frequently promotes [the interest] of society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. ”7
Here it is important to distinguish between self-interest and selfishness. Self-interest—unlike selfishness—will often lead one to commit acts of altruism; rightly understood, it knows that no man is an island, that we are part of a larger community, and that what is good for others is good for us. To put it another way: Pursuing our own good can advance the common good. Even more, advancing the common good can advance our own good.
I’ve never seen anything that would indicate someone acting in his own best interest would benefit society more than if we acted in the best interest of society first. Don’t get me wrong, I’m an ardent supporter of an individual’s right to act in his/her own best interest **as long as nobody else is harmed in the process.** However, where economics are concerned, a society that promotes the individual over society tends to end up with massive disparities in wealth, and a powerful, corrupt elite that destroy the environment, deplete natural resources, exploit labor, and cause massive poverty and suffering among the masses.
One, single person with a lot of wealth can wield much more power than a hundred thousand people (or more) with no wealth. I don’t see how that can work out to anyone’s benefit but the very rich/powerful. The wealthier and more powerful these people become, the more they can extract from the country and from the people via regulations and policies that favor themselves over “the masses” and society. How does society benefit from that?
