Selfishness and Capitalism

At least some apparently private personal experiences are, in fact, expressions of species drives, i. e. those associated with reproductive processes, e. g. sexual excitation. If so, then it is possible that, contrary to the evidence of immediate perception, all such experiences are ultimately governed by species principles. In that case, mere Selfishness, i. e. a drive that would exist in an entity even if no other entity existed, is a semi-adequate idea, as Spinoza proposes, not an illusory one, as Schopenhauer holds. On that basis, for example, Smith's concept of Self-Interest is, thus, not inconsistent with either the promotion of the wealth of a nation, or the Sympathy that he advocates in his earlier work. In sharp contrast, the advocacy of Selfishness for its own sake by contemporary Capitalists, e. g. Rand, is exposed as short-sighted.