View source for Enlightened self-interest

{{Short description|Ethical philosophy}}
{{Utilitarianism}}
'''[[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightened]] self-interest''' is a philosophy in [[ethics]] which states that persons who act to further the interests of others (or the interests of the group or groups to which they belong) ultimately serve their own [[self-interest]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/DETOC/ch2_08.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970430092754/http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/DETOC/ch2_08.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 30, 1997|title=Tocqueville: Book II Chapter 8|website=xroads.virginia.edu}} {{free access}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://web.missouri.edu/ikerdj/papers/Rethinking.html|title=Economics of Enlightened Self-Interest|website=web.missouri.edu|access-date=2008-06-11|archive-date=2017-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170729040657/http://web.missouri.edu/ikerdj/papers/Rethinking.html|url-status=dead}} {{free access}}</ref>

It has often been simply expressed by the belief that an individual, group, or even a [[business|commercial entity]] will "do well by doing good".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://whartonmagazine.com/issues/spring-2017/doing-well-by-doing-good/|title=Geoffrey Garrett: ''Doing Well by Doing Good''|access-date=2019-04-23|archive-date=2019-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423024615/http://whartonmagazine.com/issues/spring-2017/doing-well-by-doing-good/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/biz2/howtosucceed_dowell/|title=How to Succeed in 2007 &#124; Howard Schultz &#124; Business 2.0|website=money.cnn.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsenglobal/jp/docs/report/2014/Nielsen%20Global%20Corporate%20Social%20Responsibility%20Report%20-%20June%202014.pdf|title=Nielsen: ''Doing Well by Doing Good: Increasingly, consumers care about corporate social responsibility, but does concern convert to consumption?''|access-date=2019-04-23|archive-date=2019-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423025615/https://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/nielsenglobal/jp/docs/report/2014/Nielsen%2520Global%2520Corporate%2520Social%2520Responsibility%2520Report%2520-%2520June%25202014.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The term ''enlightened self-interest'' has been criticized as a mere ideological or semantic device of neoclassical economic theory to justify this type of behavior. It has been considered at best a variant of self-interest that is unsuitable for the establishment of personal and public relations because - like the definition of self-interest in the standard rational-choice model - it fails to characterise human behaviour ethically, psychologically, and cognitively.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Martinson |first1=David |title=Enlightened Self-Interest Fails as an Ethical Baseline in Public Relations |journal=Journal of Mass Media Ethics |date=1994 |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=100–108 |doi=10.1207/s15327728jmme0902_4 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327728jmme0902_4 |access-date=8 January 2023 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Related and contrasting concepts==

===Unenlightened self-interest===
In contrast to ''enlightened'' self-interest is simple [[greed]], or the concept of "''unenlightened'' self-interest", in which it is argued that when most or all persons act according to their own [[Myopia#Society and culture|myopic]] [[selfishness]], the group suffers loss as a result of conflict, decreased efficiency and productivity because of lack of cooperation, and the increased [[operating cost|expense]] each individual pays for the protection of their own interests. If a typical individual in such a group is selected at random, it is not likely that this person will [[Profit (economics)|profit]] from such a group ethic.

Some individuals might profit, in a [[economic materialism|material]] sense, from a philosophy of greed, but it is believed by proponents of enlightened self-interest that these individuals constitute a small [[dominant minority|minority]] and that the large majority of persons can expect to experience a net personal loss from a philosophy of simple ''unenlightened'' selfishness. 

Unenlightened self-interest can result in the [[tragedy of the commons]].

===Golden rule===
Enlightened self-interest is related to the [[Golden Rule]]:  simply acting toward all others the way one wants them to act toward oneself. The reasoning, for example, is "I will not steal because if I steal then others may steal from me and the creation of a thieving society will likely hurt me".  It is also related to the second part of the [[Great Commandment]], "Love your neighbor as yourself".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stark |first1=Oded |title=Altruism and the Quality of Life |journal=The American Economic Review |date=1989 |volume=79 |issue=2 |pages=86–90 |jstor=1827736 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1827736 |access-date=25 July 2022 |issn=0002-8282}}</ref>

===Deferred gratification===
Enlightened self-interest also has implications for long-term benefits as opposed to short-term benefits to oneself.<ref>Marilynn Brewer: ''Individual Self, Rational Self, and Collective Self'' Psychology Press UK 2001, p. 84</ref> When an individual pursues enlightened self-interest that person may sacrifice short-term interests to maximize long-term interests.  This is a form of [[deferred gratification]].  

An individual may choose to forsake pursuing immediate gratification by supporting and not interfering with others' pursuit of self-interest.  An individual may have to sacrifice his immediate self-interest for the purpose of a positive relationship to a group of individuals to which he relates.  For example, a merchant likely will maximize profit over the long term if they choose to be generous to their customers in a manner beyond the requirement of policy, say, in accepting returns and refunding the purchase price when not required to by explicit policy.  By doing so, they may lose short-term gain but likely will eventually profit from increased business volume as they gain a reputation for being reasonable, honest, and generous.

===Altruism===
Enlightened self-interest is also different from [[altruism]], which calls for people to act in the interest of others often at the expense of their own interests and with no expectation of material benefit for themselves in the future.  Some advocates of enlightened self-interest might argue that pure altruism promotes [[inefficiency]] as well.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Is Enlightened Self-Interest And Does It Matter? |url=https://cumbriatimes.co.uk/article/What-Is-Enlightened-Self-Interest-And-Does-It-Matter |website=Cumbria Times |accessdate=23 January 2025}}</ref>

===Rational selfishness===
[[Rational egoism|Rational selfishness]] is a term generally related to [[Ayn Rand]]'s [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivist philosophy]], which refers to a person's efforts to look after their own well-being, to cultivate the self, and achieve goals for the good of the self. The focus in rational selfishness might be considered to be more self-directed (where the benefit to the group or society is a possible [[by-product]]) than the focus of enlightened self-interest which is more group-directed (and the benefit to oneself might be more of the by-product). Some authors say that this concept elevates egoism to the level of a moral principle.<ref name=Pojman>
{{cite book |title=Moral Philosophy: A Reader |chapter=Part III: Ethics and egoism |page=60 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ugU7BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 |author=Louis P. Pojman, Peter Tramel |edition=4th |year=2009 |publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=9781603845038 }}
</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Adam Smith]] and the "[[invisible hand]]"
*[[Alexis de Tocqueville]]
*[[Aristotle]] and [[virtue ethics]]
*[[Behavioral economics]]
*[[Ethical egoism]]
*[[Friedrich Nietzsche]] and the "[[will to power]]"
*[[Helping behavior]]
*[[wikt:give and take|Give and take]]
*[[Identity politics]]
*[[Psychological egoism]]
*[[Reciprocal altruism]]
*''[[The Selfish Gene]]'' (book)
*[[Thomas Hobbes]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes and references==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060216071129/http://www.learningtogive.org/papers/index.asp?bpid=23 J.B. Steenbergen: ''Enlightened self-interest in Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America'']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050416045153/http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/Faculty/JIkerd/papers/Rethinking.html J. Ikerd: ''Economics of Enlightened Self-Interest'']
*[http://users.ox.ac.uk/~jrlucas/ethecon/ethecon.html M.R. Griffiths & J.R. Lucas: ''Ethical Economics''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909054820/http://users.ox.ac.uk/~jrlucas/ethecon/ethecon.html |date=2006-09-09 }} particularly [http://users.ox.ac.uk/~jrlucas/ethecon/chap13.pdf Chapter 13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040620204439/http://users.ox.ac.uk/~jrlucas/ethecon/chap13.pdf |date=2004-06-20 }}
*[http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1280120 Enlightened self-interest@Everything2.com]
*[http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring02/Holt/enlightened.html Enlightened self-interest business model] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824200517/http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring02/Holt/enlightened.html |date=2006-08-24 }}
*[http://www.strategy-business.com/press/16635507/05309 Daniel Yankelovich: The Thought Leader Interview]
*[http://www.atlassociety.org/generosity_self-interest David Kelley: Generosity and Self-Interest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513142338/http://www.atlassociety.org/generosity_self-interest |date=2013-05-13 }}
*[http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring02/Holt/enlightened.html Public Relations Ethics: Enlightened Self-interest Model] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824200517/http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring02/Holt/enlightened.html |date=2006-08-24 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061113161410/http://www.principalvoices.com/2006/collaboration/introduction.html The age of the responsible corporation]
*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20061024080908/http://www.smartrecovery.org/resources/library/Articles_and_Essays/Self-Acceptance/enlightened_selfinterest.htm  Enlightened self-interest from a perspective of self-help (Smart Recovery)]}}

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[[Category:Social ethics]]
[[Category:Utilitarianism]]
[[Category:Social philosophy]]