What’s Wrong with Being Selfish?
We have been taught our entire lives to be courteous, generous and selfless. Modern society has deemed it correct and moral for its individuals to consistently put others before themselves, and to place the needs of the group over the needs of the individual. Whenever someone commits an act that contradicts these mores, he or she is often deemed “immoral” and branded the cruel title of being (shudder) “selfish.” Yes, as of today, the title of being selfish has been determined, by social standings and the general consensus (with a little nudge from our friend Jesus of Nazareth and the fellows of the Church), to be taboo. This in turn places a brand of disgust upon those who would do things in their own names and not for their fellow man. In other words, those who commit “selfish” acts are condemned by society’s standards to be of “a lower standing” than those who are considered selfless.
Through this reasoning, modern society has put a small stigma on any action that can be labeled as being selfish. But is being selfish really so bad? Is it not possible to be a good, moral human being and still be selfish? We as a society often place any decision made by people on a spectrum with “selflessness” on one side, and “selfishness” on the other side. When placed next to the spectrum of “good vs. evil,” “selfishness” is always synonymous with “evil.” But why should this be so? Being selfish is not as bad as most people make it out to be as it is human nature to look out for one’s self interest over the interests of a group and should not be considered as such.
The spectrum of “selflessness vs. selfishness” is ultimately flawed by human nature, due to the fact that it has become extremely difficult to determine where on the spectrum an action falls. George Morgan Jr. explains it very well in his essay “Selfishness and Unselfishness” when he says that our natural instincts tend to label the actual effects of certain actions rather than the motive behind the action as selfish. We tend to condemn the actions of others who appear to exclude or injure the interests of others regardless of whether or not the individuals were thinking about themselves or not. For example, when a child refuses to share his or her toys with the other children, the child is considered selfish. But when a businessman decides to open up a park that will bring millions of dollars for himself and his company, no one condemns him because people deem his actions as “publicly beneficent.” (Morgan 402) In the end, it does not seem to matter if someone’s motive behind an action is selfish. Through this reasoning, if the effects of that action exclude the people around the individual, they are labeled as being selfish.
But what is being selfish? For the answer to that question, I look to Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter Ayn Rand and her book The Virtue of Selfishness. In modern society and in the culture that surrounds it, “the word ‘selfishness’ is a synonym of evil […] yet the exact meaning and dictionary definition of the word ‘selfishness’ is: concern with one’s own interests (Rand 5).” So, by definition, being selfish is to be concerned with the interests of the individual alone. Really? That is what all the argument is all about? The definition itself has no actual moral connotations, but we place the moral implication along with the definition. So why do we spurn those who act on “selfish whims?” Why is the effect of an action more important than the motive behind it? And why is how beneficiary to others the only criterion of moral value? Is modern society today trying to say that so long as an action is beneficial to anybody other than oneself, anything goes?
If we continue this line of thought, that as long as an action is beneficent to anybody other than oneself, we slowly begin to find problems with this: “A young man who gives up his career in order to support his parents and never rises beyond the rank of grocery clerk is regarded as morally superior to the young man who endures an excruciating struggle and achieves his personal ambition (Rand 6).” The young man who supports his parents may be considered a good and moral person, willing to sacrifice his career for the wellbeing of his parents, but he will not be able to fulfill any of his life’s dreams in the long run. He may be deemed a hero by those around him, but was it really worth it?
I believe that it is all right to be selfish. Being selfish merely means to act in one’s rational self-interest. The term “rational self-interest” means that an individual can prove, logically, that an action of the individual is in his or her own self-interest, not only in the long run but in the short run as well. In other words, the individual is actively thinking about what will bring them ultimate happiness or what will bring them further in life. According to Michael J. Hurd, an American psychotherapist, broadcast radio show host, author, public speaker, commentator, a selfish person can give to charity. They only give to charity if and when they choose. “A selfish person is not ‘stingy.’ He simply values the use of his own judgment in making decisions about how to spend his money.” If a human being truly loves another person, it will always hurt them if they lie to that person. So, in order to give themselves peace and happiness, they may choose to never lie to his or her loved ones. So, if it will hurt a person to not give to charity, then the obvious answer would be to give to charity so that they can be happy with themselves. The idea that is stated here is that a person who commits selfish acts can still help others and love others just as well as any other person. They are just acting on selfish motives.
If you think about it, our society is mainly built upon selfish desires and actions that are in our own self-interest. For example, if a mother loves her son and she wants her son to love her, then of course she is going to give him money so he can buy a bicycle. Do you really believe that the owner of Olive Garden is really serving the needs of the community when he or she provides good food and a clean atmosphere? The owner is merely providing what he or she can so that the he or she and the restaurant can make a profit and beat the competition. Most doctors and physicians are also not providing the best treatment and care that they can out of a sense of altruism. They provide the best care they can because they are both financially and emotionally rewarded for their efforts (Hurd).
As you can tell, this society is almost built upon individuals that work through selfish motives. This society laid the foundations for individuals to freely pursue their own self-interests and while everyone pursues these personal interests through their own means, usually everyone benefits in the long run. And this is part of what Hurd calls “rational self-interest” which is when an individual is acting in his or her own self-interest while accepting responsibility for determining what truly serves their long-term interest. Like stated before, if a person knows that giving to charity or not lying to a loved one will serve their long-term and short-term interest, then that is when the individual is being rationally self-interested. If you accept that you are in fact acting in a selfish way, then you can continue to see which actions will be most beneficial to you as an individual and also, see which actions will be beneficial to, not only yourself, but also to the people who you want to benefit from this action. In the end, this may be the only way to actually be selfish, because when we are about to commit a selfish act, or even make a simple decision, we always weigh the pros and cons before we act. In this way, we can be rationally self-interested by simply weighing the pros and cons before we make a decision.
Being selfless and altruistic has long been deemed the desirable way to live, but it can only take you so far. As stated by Ayn Rand “the first thing [a man] learns [when being altruistic] is that morality is his enemy; he has nothing to gain from it, he can only lose (6).” So why spend any time doing something that can be considered selfless by the other people in society when it will not benefit you in anyway? It is your own life and you should be living it in any way possible to achieve whatever goal or aspiration you wish. You can still be selfish and help the people you love. You will just be acting with a selfish motive and you will be able to recognize which actions can benefit you in which ways.
In the end, being selfish does not require any change in lifestyle. In fact, you may continue to live your life in the exact same way as you have been doing before you read this article. All that will have changed is the simple act of recognizing that whatever actions you may be committing will most likely have selfish motives behind them. There may also come a time in your life where you may be caught between two choices: one being the selfless option and the other being the selfish option. Whatever you choose, you should continue to keep in mind that you should always keep your personal interests at the forefront when you make the decision. I now close with the following statement by Michael J. Hurd: “We live in a world, which does not even recognize the option of rational selfishness. We are taught, from childhood, that we must be either self-sacrificing or thoughtlessly ‘selfish.’ I maintain that this is a false alternative. Rational selfishness, if practiced consistently, is the means of living both a moral and psychologically healthy life. If you choose to recognize this alternative, such a life can be yours.” Living as a selfish person will benefit yourself throughout the course of your life. When you look carefully and commit to the decisions that will benefit yourself, then you may find that your life will be better and you will be happier.
Works Cited
Hurd, Michael J. "What's So Bad About Being Selfish?." Capitalism Magazine. 23 Sep 1999. 16 Mar 2009 .
Morgan Jr., George. "Selfishness and Unselfishness." The Journal of Philosophy 37(1940): 401-407.
Rand, Ayn. The Virtue of Selfishness. New York City: The Penguin Group, 1964.
