#selfishness

The individualism of current economic theory is manifest in the purely self-interested behavior it generally assumes. It has no real place for fairness, malevolence, and benevolence, nor for the preservation of human life or any other moral concern. ↗

— Herman E. Daly

#morality #selfishness #life

Some people think that evolutionary psychology claims to have discovered that human nature is selfish and wicked. But they are flattering the researchers and anyone who would claim to have discovered the opposite. No one needs a scientist to measure whether humans are prone to knavery. The question has been answered in the history books, the newspapers, the ethnographic record, and the letters to Ann Landers. But people treat it like an open question, as if someday science might discover that it's all a bad dream and we will wake up to find that it is human nature to love one another. ↗

— Steven Pinker

#human-nature #selfishness #dreams

A motto of many politicians, public servants and money bags: Ask not 'What can I do for you?' but 'What can I do you for? ↗

— H.M. Forester

#public-service #selfishness #money

Law represents the effort of man to organize society; governments, the efforts of selfishness to overthrow liberty. ↗

— Henry Ward Beecher

#efforts #governments #law #liberty #man

It may be a cold, clammy thing to say, but those that treat friendship the same as any other selfishness seem to get the most out of it. ↗

— E. W. Howe

#cold #friendship #get #may #most

The rising sun can dispel the darkness of night, but it cannot banish the blackness of malice, hatred, bigotry, and selfishness from the hearts of humanity. ↗

— David O. McKay

#blackness #cannot #darkness #dispel #hatred

What we won when all of our people united must not be lost in suspicion and distrust and selfishness and politics. Accordingly, I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as president. ↗

— Lyndon B. Johnson

#accordingly #another #distrust #i #lost

A wise unselfishness is not a surrender of yourself to the wishes of anyone, but only to the best discoverable course of action. ↗

— David Seabury

#anyone #best #course #discoverable #only

Wars come from egotism and selfishness. Every macrocosmic or world war has its origin in microcosmic wars going on inside millions and millions of individuals. ↗

— Fulton J. Sheen

#selfishness #war #life

I suppose it is that sickness and weakness are selfish things and turn our inner eyes and sympathy on ourselves, whilst health and strength give love rein, and in thought and feeling he can wander where he wills. ↗

— Bram Stoker

#love #selfishness #sickness #love