Do People Tend to Decide Issues Based on Their Own Self Interests?
Adam Smith, a Scottish philosopher and economist who published “The Wealth of Nations” in 1776, observed that people seem to be guided by an “invisible hand,” causing them to make decisions based on their own self interests which often end-up benefitting society as a whole.
Do you think that decisions—which benefit ourselves, and our own self-interests—usually end-up benefitting society as well? Why, or why not?
Is Adam Smith’s conclusion, about human behavior, more or less true today than it was in the 18th century? Explain your answer.