Most people assign the "Self-interest" to the realm of the 'Darkworker', or 'Right Wing' philosophies. This is entirely due to the inappropriateness of delineating multi-dimensional qualities across a axis, essentially forming a dichotomy.
One CAN be 'perfectly selfish' while both helping other people AND helping themselves.
That's the beauty of what has been termed "Enlightened Self-Interest" (or sometimes 'Rational Selfishness') and it requires a slight-yet-critical reframing away from the binary 'Lightworker / Darkworker' delineation.
I ABSOLUTELY DENY the entire concept of
"Altruism" as one based in self-deception. Furthermore, is runs contrary to the concepts of
"worthiness" and
"appreciation" which are primary and pivotal tenants of my philosophy.
No one does ANYTHING 'altruistically' - regardless of their belief in the selflessness of their gesture. They merely do things which satisfy their own egos under the guise of 'altruism'.
Mother Teresa in Calcutta was satisfying her existential craving for communing with her god, guarantying her eventual sanctity, and her legacy. These things
ARE REWARDS IN THEMSELVES, and compensated her for her 'sacrifice'.
As Robert Heinlein wrote about Altruism:
“Beware of altruism. It is based on self-deception, the root of all evil.
If tempted by something that feels ‘altruistic,’ examine your motives and root out that self-deception. Then, if you still want to do it, wallow in it!" (emphasis mine)
Whether your motives are love, pity, guilt-relief, desire for approval/gratitude/public esteem, or pride/self-esteem - they are still MOTIVES and
deny the concept of genuine altruism.
As Ayn Rand wrote about Altruism:
“The basic principle of altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value.
Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others.
These are not primaries, but consequences, which, in fact, altruism makes impossible." (emphasis mine)
Heinlein also wrote:
Do not confuse “duty” with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different.
Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfil obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
Whatever I do, I do with my eyes wide open, fully appreciating my motives, and in compliance with my duty.
I am often described as a most generous person, and I derive satisfaction from that (which is payment enough!) as well as from the confidence that every person I offer to assist is
worthy of my attention, and has freely ACCEPTED my offer, appreciates the help, and does not feel belittled nor victimized by it.
I am COMPLETELY SELFISH in everything I do, and everything I am, and AS A CONSEQUENCE, I consistently do the very best I can for everyone I elect to involve in my world. See above
Reassess your premises, and you will understand that you can BOTH be active and promoting a greater-good while at the same time being truly self-serving, and living richly, accumulating wealth and generating value!
Much in the same way as political philosophies can't truly be divided along just one axis, (despite people's continuously making this reasoning error, and consequently concluding in paradox) a persons nature and motives cannot be so black & white.
"Left Wing" is generally used to describe someone with a socialistic propensity,
while "Right Wing" is generally used to describe someone with a capitalistic/individualistic sentiment.
At the same time, "Left Wing" is usually used to describe a tolerant leniency, a moral flexibility, and non-confrontationality while "Right Wing" is usually assigned to conservatism, militarism, and religious fundamentalism.
Since there are PLENTY of capitalist atheist pacifists, and no end to profiteering, self-aggrandizing Marxists, it is obvious that there is no genuinely demonstrable polarity.
For politics, I prefer a two-dimensional model - X and Y divisions, resulting in this sort of thing:
___TOP____ |
|
|
|
LEFT -------------+----------- RIGHT |
|
|
|
__BOTTOM__
In the above model, the X axis [Left <--> Right] describes individual economic liberties [Socialism <--> Capitalism]
And the Y axis (Top <--> Bottom) describes individual civil liberties [Anarchy <--> Totalitarianism]
Where any individual OR political party wishes to DESCRIBE itself can be much better represented in this two-dimensional model, but still - how close they will be to actually EXISTING in that limited model is a
matter of interpretation.
Darkworker / Lightworker is as limiting as Left Wing / Right Wing, and therefore I recommend everyones' liberating themselves from believing that they must polarize into one 'camp' or the other, and merely work within themselves to establish a consistent, rational model for their own life!
My personal Mission Statement:
"I exist to enjoy the rewards of my best efforts!"
...throughout my life, the rewards are vast and constant, and eminently enjoyable!
Johnny Soporno
Lifestyle Guru