[automatwon]

"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest" - Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith

I tend to think of self-interest being equivalent to selfishness. Your point makes me wonder if self-interest is not equivalent to selfishness, at least to Economists.

[TeMPOraL]

Well, what you quote is true, but I think a lot of discussion stems from focusing on the wrong question, namely "does selfishness lead to better outcomes" as opposed to when it does, and when it does not.

Too many people seem to approach economy as an ideology rather than a complex system in which a given approach produces good results here and bad results there, and everything should be subject to optimization and careful design.

[JumpCrisscross]

> Too many people seem to approach economy as an ideology rather than a complex system

Few of these people have any decision-making authority. This mass ignorance of economics does occasionally bubble up on the policy side. But it is generally, at least in the United States, contained by more knowledgeable (and influential) parties.

[mcguire]

...like Alan Greenspan?

[stale2002]

Nobody thinks that selfish leads to "better" outcome.

They believe that if everyone acts selfishly, the outcome is still pretty darn good (but of course could be improved if nobody committed crimes or something)

[TeMPOraL]

Again, saying that "the outcome is pretty darn good, therefore yay capitalism" is missing the crucial question - when do the good parts happen, when do the bad parts happen, and how to preserve the former while getting rid of the latter.

Ideologies are mind poison.