[areyouseriousxx]

> Everyone is self-interested

Is there a citation I can refer to about this statement?

I would argue that laws and regulations are to prevent the very impactful minority of actors that would willfully harm others to benefit themselves.

[sl1ck731]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_egoism

At this point it is philosophical either way, so you aren't going to get a citation confirming yours or his statements, but this isn't an unheard of belief.

[m00x]

Neither statement is wrong. Heavily penalizing malicious actions aligns societal, and self-interest.

People don't go out and murder people they don't like because it's both at the interest of themselves, and to society.

[bjterry]

> Is there a citation I can refer to about this statement?

I recently read The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life, which discusses this topic in great detail.

[baroffoos]

Businesses that do not fake reviews will be buried in the search results and they will be forced to shut down when their sales stop. Its essentially evolution for companies.

[porjo]

>> Everyone is self-interested

> Is there a citation I can refer to about this statement?

'The Book of Life', page 1

[isoskeles]

First, this is quite condescending.

Second, the "self-interest" argument doesn't excuse shitty behavior. It might be in my self-interest to steal my neighbor's wallet he forgot outside. It has money in it! Doesn't make it a good idea nor something I would consider as a "self-interested" person.

Plus, it's also in my self-interest not to contribute to lowering the bar of a review system. As someone who uses Amazon and other review sites, I don't like the idea of phony reviews, so even if I worked for a company that "depended" on these reviews, I wouldn't feel good about adding to the problem (nor would I feel good that my employer supposedly needs to rely on falsified reviews).

[TheOtherHobbes]

It doesn't excuse shitty behaviour.

But if you start from the realistic premise that some actors are bad, the market feedback loop immediately rewards them - which forces other actors to make a choice between acting in similarly unethical ways or being punished for non-compliance.

The real shitty behaviour is Amazon's. It has ultimate control over this fiasco but Bezos clearly has no interest in stopping it - and it can easily be argued that's an example of the same systemic problem with market fundamentalism, but at a higher level.

[tern]

Incidentally, 'The Book of Life', page 1: https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/how-to-love/

[elhudy]

I find that people who generally hold this opinion against others are actually projecting their own thoughts.