Who is an egoist? And is it bad to be?

Egoism is a quality blamed by society: this word comes from the Latin ego - "I". And it means a person's desire for personal gain. But is it not natural? It is necessary to understand who is so selfish, and whether it is bad for them to be.

Common opinion

Accusing someone of selfishness, usually mean that a person thinks only of himself. And pursues its interests at the expense of others, pushes everyone elbows on the way to their goals and "walks through the corpses." That's who an egoist is, in the opinion of the majority. It is self-love, who can not love anyone but himself. Therefore, he takes and takes much more than he gives, and never helps others. The meaning of his life is to create the best conditions for himself.

Altruism

What insulting word is an egoist! The antonym to him is an altruist - it seems a more positive characteristic, which does not sound so often. The altruist cares about those around him (selflessly and selflessly) that is, he easily brings his interests and goals to a stranger to others. They are motivated by the best motives: compassion, humanism, mercy and so on.

The Struggle and Unity of Opposites

The altruist will take off his last shirt, just to help his neighbor. For example, a woman who works simultaneously, completely organizes the household and deals with children, that is, she gives herself completely to the family. Her husband, an egoist, considers this situation quite natural and sincerely puzzled why his second half sometimes is not in the spirit: she cares about him, beloved. They complement each other admirably, do not they?

Extremes

It is not known whether the extreme egoists suffer from the loneliness promised or the disapproval of those around them, but from the excess of everything that they "nahapali" to themselves - yes. Here, who is such an egoist - not at all such a happy man as he would have liked to be at any cost. The altruist, however, is not happier: maybe confidence in his own high moral qualities and allows him to assert himself, but in his endeavor to endlessly give, he will distribute to others everything himself - alas, not infinite. By the way, instead of gratitude he probably will receive only the title of spineless rag. And even if his last shirt does not get to the greedy egoist, but to the same altruist who has gone to the extreme and to poverty, it will not benefit society as a whole: the number of people without a shirt in it will remain the same.

Who is an egoist reasonable?

Each person has his own desires and needs, and in a healthy developing society they must all be taken into account and coordinated among themselves. Reasonable selfishness, also called social individualism, presupposes this: a person should fulfill his own desires and achieve his goals, take care of his well-being, but in such a way as not to infringe the interests of other people. Such a peaceful life will surely bring him more desired joy than a constant struggle with everyone and everyone for the best place in the sun. It is also better for an altruist to be reasonable and take care of others, not missing his own profit: he can give something to them only when he is healthy, rich and happy.