[imw]

This logic only holds if you take an extremely narrow view of what constitutes self-interest. If you broaden that understanding to include the benefits we receive from wider social progress, then doesn't this chain of reasoning fall apart?

[csallen]

Can you explain further? I don't quite follow.

[imw]

Aligning one's interest with the broader public makes sense because we are part of the broader public. What benefits the broader public benefits us individually, too.

[csallen]

Yes, but the inverse is not true: what benefits oneself doesn't necessarily benefit the broader public. And that's what matters when looking at individual behaviors.