« Peace and Free Trade | Main | Another Drop of Prosperity in the Prosperity Pool» Don Boudreaux
December 16, 2004
On Self-Interestedness
Don Boudreaux
Ever notice how enthusiastically our popular and political culture endorses and even celebrates self-interestedness?
Each of us is encouraged to exercise, to lose weight, to quit smoking, to eat healthier foods, to go back to school to complete that college degree. We’re advised to do all sorts of things that are good principally for us, individually. This advice proudly encourages self-interested motivation. Here are just two examples. The first is from Teen Scene magazine:
Stress does cause weight gain. If you're stressed, you're likely to eat "comfort food" and not realize how much you're eating. Stress may trigger chemicals in your body that cling to fat cells. Stress also evaluates your heart rate and makes you vulnerable to illnesses. If you're feeling stressed, take a breather. Find at least an hour to do something for yourself.
Or this quotation from exercise guru Bob Bohnam:
Surely you can set aside half an hour three times a week to train, jog or do some sort of exercise. Make training part of your weekly routine, like working, running errands or shopping. You spend a lot of time doing things for your employer, family and friends. You also need to do something for yourself. Make going to the gym your time. It’s for your health.
(I found these quotations by Googling [exercise “do something for yourself”] – which turned up 3,610 hits.)
…..
I do not dispute the wisdom of exercising, eating right, and stopping to smell roses and other fragrant flowers. Nor do I object to self-interested actions.
But I have long been struck by how certain actions – exercising, eating low-fat diets, quitting smoking – are routinely celebrated, esteemed, even idolized, despite being almost wholly self-interested. Other self-interested actions, in contrast – such as financial investing, or running a profit-seeking business in a profit-seeking way – are looked upon much more suspiciously. (For example, in this recent exchange on the merits of private vs. government provision of health-care, one commenter ridiculed as being obviously absurd the notion that health-care provision should be motivated by self-interest -- what he calls “greed.”)
The fact, then, is that our culture does not simple-mindedly elevate other-regarding actions over self-interested actions. Many obviously self-interested actions are admired and encouraged. Only some self-interested actions are slapped with the label “greed” and condemned as ugly and harmful.
Jogging to stay healthy is virtuous; managing your pharmaceutical firm to stay profitable is inconsiderate (and for many people downright scandalous).
Curiously, the set of self-interested actions that are widely praised are those whose positive effects redound almost exclusively to each self-interested actor. If I exercise and eat right, the resulting health and beauty benefits are mine alone. My healthier heart, bulgier biceps, and more-slender body do nothing to improve my neighbor’s well-being. (In fact, my exercise and good diet might harm him, for they improve my chances of getting the pretty girl whom we’ve both been eyeing.)
In contrast, prominent among the self-interested actions that are popularly suspect are those whose fulfillment requires self-interested actors to provide benefits to others. Of course, the business firm that earns profits in the market yields benefits to its self-interested principals – but it does so only insofar as it yields benefits to others. And the greater the benefits provided to others, and the greater the number of others provided with these benefits, the greater are the benefits that the self-interested, profit-seeking business principals enjoy.
That is, when someone selfishly jogs to improve his or her health, we applaud. When that same someone selfishly seeks financial profit by offering goods or services for sale to consumers, many of us are wary. (And even most of the other of us who aren’t wary don’t positively praise this variety of self-interested behavior. We merely tolerate it as necessary.)
Selfish behavior that is exclusively self-regarding is praised; selfish behavior that requires the selfish actor to consider and satisfy and please strangers is suspect.
Curious.
Posted by Don Boudreaux in Myths and Fallacies | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d834518ccc69e200d83422311153ef
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference On Self-Interestedness:
» What is selfishness? from EconLog
Don Boudreaux writes, when someone selfishly jogs to improve his or her health, we applaud. When that same someone selfishly... [Read More]
Tracked on Dec 16, 2004 3:52:34 PM
» What is selfishness? from EconLog
Don Boudreaux writes, when someone selfishly jogs to improve his or her health, we applaud. When that same someone selfishly... [Read More]
Tracked on Dec 16, 2004 4:05:56 PM
» What is selfishness? from EconLog
Don Boudreaux writes, when someone selfishly jogs to improve his or her health, we applaud. When that same someone selfishly... [Read More]
Tracked on Dec 16, 2004 4:06:59 PM
» Myths and fallacies? from Universal Acid
This seems to me to get it exactly backwards. Yes, the profit motive benefits others - sometimes. But sometimes it harms others. I'm not talking about the simplistic idea that the free market is a zero-sum game, so if you win, I must lose. Really, se... [Read More]
Tracked on Dec 16, 2004 7:44:11 PM
» Service Learning Rant II from Division of Labour
I have already made one rant on "service learning" which is presently being pushed by my university's administration. Don Boudreaux has an excellect essay at Cafe Hayek "On Self-Interestedness" pointing out the hypocrisy of many people when thinking ab... [Read More]
Tracked on Dec 17, 2004 9:46:17 AM
» Friday's Daily News from The Club for Growth Blog
Social Security Poses Challenge For Dems - NY Sun Tax Reform Tea Leaves - Donald Lambro, Wash Times Social Security Status Quo? - C. Conda, NRO A Personal Matter - Greg Mankiw, Wall Street Journal FDR is Dead - Jonah... [Read More]
Tracked on Dec 17, 2004 10:15:29 AM
» Business Innovation Means Unlikely Pairings from Often Come From
Often Come From Combining Two Unlikely Things to Create Something Totally New [Read More]
Tracked on Mar 31, 2006 12:47:00 PM
» DFA 'Roots Tourney: The Grassroots Championship from members between
all of the hard work done by our original 64 teams, at noon today field narrowed to just four finalists. This is the free-for-all roundinstead [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 4, 2006 12:15:48 AM
» Auto Search: 1938 buick v i n from Online Auto Guise
Search and Compare Certified Pre-Owned Cars. Car Shopping Tools and Advice · 2006 Auto Shows · New York Auto Show Check out 2007 models and cool concepts ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 27, 2006 3:20:10 PM
» Library of Congress WWW/Z39.50 Gateway from Harvard Seismology: Centroid Moment Tensor Catalog
Contents: Search Library of Congress Catalog | Search Other Catalogs | About the Z39.50 ... Library of Congress Online Catalog. Simple Search (any keyword) ... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 29, 2006 10:35:58 PM
» SmartPhone Today: Qtek 2020i from Smartphone Reviews; Best SmartPhones
The Internet's 3rd Party information center for SmartPhone Shareware, SmartPhone Freeware, Reviews, Hardware, Discussion, and more! Updated Daily... [Read More]
Tracked on Apr 30, 2006 9:52:03 AM
» Italian Election - The End of Prodi from Piemonte.
'Legge Biagi'). Indeed, due to Prodi's razor-thin majority, most are predicting a quick loss of confidence, and a collapse in government just [Read More]
Tracked on May 3, 2006 8:51:54 PM
» Parents' Smoking May Affect Babies from may expose their
their children to cancer-causing agents through secondhand smoke, a new study shows. [Read More]
Tracked on May 22, 2006 10:09:32 PM
» Cancer: The facts from he disease tends
he disease tends to affect older people - but can strike at any time. [Read More]
Tracked on May 26, 2006 2:09:37 PM
» The Hobgoblin USA Catalog Contents Page from USA Catalog
This Catalog is for use in the USA only, we try to keep these items available from our inventory here in the US. If you want goods sent outside the USA, ... [Read More]
Tracked on May 27, 2006 1:04:17 AM
» Stocks Mixed Over Mild Data, Inflation 'Fear Factor' from prices vs. mild
commodity prices vs. mild economic data made for an up-and-down day on Wall Street. [Read More]
Tracked on May 29, 2006 2:59:43 PM
