Talk about "refined egoism"

The term "refined egoism" has suddenly become popular in recent years, and more and more people have begun to call others or themselves "refined egoists". "Egoism", a behavior that doesn't seem to be in line with core values, is slowly gaining its own market. The old slogan "Everyone is for me, I am for everyone" seems a bit magical and stupid. The debate between egoism and altruism has always belonged to the category of philosophical or social thought, and it is destined that it is difficult for them to define absolute good or absolute bad. On the contrary, if we look at the acceptance of these trends of thought in society, there may be some new ideas for the current era. Cognition, the so-called peeking into the leopard, is evident.

What is "refined egoism"

In 2012, Professor Qian Liqun of Peking University said at Wuhan University's "Ideal University Symposium": "Some of our universities, including Peking University, are cultivating some 'exquisite egoists, who are high IQ, secular, sophisticated, He is good at performing, knows how to cooperate, and is better at using the system to achieve his goals.”

According to Professor Qian Liqun's formulation, refined egoists refer to the theory of natural human nature that pursues the maximization of personal interests. The so-called "exquisite" means that they have a high IQ and upbringing, and everything they do seems reasonable, reasonable, legal and impeccable on the surface; at the same time, they have an amazing "sophisticated and sophisticated". ”, often showing a “loyal” attitude, very good at cooperating and performing, and is best at using the power of the system to maximize potential benefits for himself and become a member of a vested interest group. From this point of view, refined egoism is more like a hidden manifestation of egoism, and in the process of pure egoism, it pursues a better reputation.

The above descriptions of refined egoists are more realistic. Next, we try to analyze "refined egoism" from the perspective of social thought. Refinement egoism consists of the words "refinement" and "egoism".

Let's start with "fine". The term "refined" is the opposite of "savage" and "primitive", which is defined in terms of the dominant mode of production in society. Along with it, education, cultural level, consumption level, etc. have also changed. Therefore, the word "exquisite" expresses more of a characteristic of the times, which is the manifestation of the optimal egoism of modernization.

Let alone egoism. As one of the instinctive desires of human beings, egoism can be said to exist along with the existence of human beings. Egoism is a social trend of thought that puts personal interests first. Bentham, the founder of utilitarian political thought, clearly stated that "personal interests are the only real interests", and at the same time expressed a clear critical position on the spirit of self-sacrifice. Bentham also regarded social interests as the sum of individual interests, and then came to the conclusion that "the part is the whole". In fact, under the social background at that time, this trend of thought actually represented the interests of the British bourgeoisie. Bentham also proposed that the principle of utilitarianism should not consider motives, it does not matter whether the motives are moral or not, but only the results, that is, whether it can bring people the greatest benefit.

Some people say that pure self-interest will inevitably lead to the lack of public interests and the beautification of personal interests. On this issue, the 18th-century Scottish school put forward a hypothesis: social order is generated unconsciously when individuals pursue their own best interests without considering the public interest at all. Adam Smith further enriched the trend of egoism, and proposed three concepts of "natural order", "social division of labor" and "invisible hand" to support this trend of thought.

Adam Smith believed that each individual is naturally the best judge of his own interests and should be given the freedom to act in his own way. Assuming he does not interfere, he will not only achieve his highest purpose, but also help to advance the public good. Although every individual is most concerned with the best interests for himself, he is a member of society, and his pursuit of interests can only proceed along the path prescribed by the natural social order. Through the social division of labor, a person can no longer be independent from others. People have to collaborate and help each other out of the selfishness of people to communicate with each other, to trade, and to meet their own needs. A man almost always encounters help from others, and he cannot expect that help to be done only by the benevolence of others. In order to achieve his own ends, the best course of action is to arouse the selfishness of others, not sympathy. As for why the pursuit of personal interests can naturally promote social public interests, Adam Smith also gave his own explanation: there is a natural balance and adjustment mechanism in the natural order, which makes the various motives and conflicts of human beings. The interests naturally reach the adjustment. Like the guidance of an "invisible hand," the resulting actions necessarily include the meaning of others in their own interests. Thus a man, in the pursuit of his own interests, often enables him to further the interests of society more effectively than if he really intends.

How Egoism Works

Of course not all scholars agree with Adam Smith's views. Without discussing whether egoism is right or wrong, the author tries to interpret whether egoism is applicable in today's Chinese society from the perspective of how egoism can be realized.

Pay attention to Adam Smith's statement that because there is an "invisible hand", people's actions must include the interests of others in their own interests. In order to better understand this sentence, we can take a simple example: a flat tire is not a beneficial thing for all car owners, but only for auto mechanics. Good thing, because they only have a chance of making money if the car breaks down. So according to the extreme self-interest, in order to maximize personal interests, should auto mechanics take the initiative to puncture the owner's car tires? Apparently few auto mechanics would choose to do this, because of what Adam Smith called the natural order and social conventions such as morality and law.

It is not difficult to see that there is a very rational and harsh requirement implicit in the content of egoism. This requirement is a code of conduct that people are highly constrained by morality and consider consequences; it is a strong and well-executed legal guarantee that treats no discrimination; it is a sound Effective multi-party supervision; it is a humanistic thought of empathy and thinking for the sake of others...

This is a highly idealized state, which puts forward quite high requirements on people themselves, the governance of the country, laws, and supervision. It is precisely such high requirements that many scholars have doubted and even criticized it for a long time. British sociologist Eric Rolle pointed out, "Adam Smith made the mistake of seeing the characteristics of his society as eternally valid; he saw the phenomena of the contemporary social order conditioned by historical conditions as It is a natural human motive, and it is interpreted as a universal principle.” Adam Smith lived in the British Industrial Revolution period, capitalism developed rapidly, the productive forces were in urgent need of liberation, and giving the economy the greatest degree of freedom was indeed the most important part of British society at that time. suitable choice.

Rolle paid attention to Adam Smith's achievements in economics and was sensitive to the possible fallacies of Adam Smith's attempt to apply economic theory to social life. In other words, the utilitarian outcome of the bourgeoisie has become the norm of utilitarian morality, and every mercenary capitalist can swagger in the market under the guise of "morality". From this, utilitarianism seems to be an example of harmoniously integrating personal interests into social interests, but it is actually a beautification to safeguard personal interests. The French philosopher Comte pointed out that a free and competitive enterprise system cannot produce any lasting bonds of social solidarity among self-interested individuals.

The German philosopher Hegel believed that the overall interests of society cannot be reduced to the sum of individual interests or special interests. Only after fully understanding the complex functions of the state, such as social integration and moral education, can people truly understand the overall interests of society. Hegel's theory is undoubtedly a state determinism, but it is undeniable that he has a deeper understanding of the whole.

Why refined egoism prevails in my country

In the author's opinion, philosophical views and social trends of thought have always been good or bad. The difference between different ideological views is whether they are suitable for this era, and often the views that fit with a certain era will be in that era. be admired. The dialectics of social and historical development tells us that society will neither spare ordinary people nor great men. If a certain person becomes an outstanding person in history, it may not be because he is different from the "heavenly wise", but because their special interests coincide with the historical trend at a certain period of history.

The so-called refined egoism has prevailed in our country in recent years, and I think there are several reasons for it: The first is modernization. Economic development under modernization is bound to be accompanied by increasingly detailed division of labor, which is a key factor leading to social stratification. In any commercial society, no matter how people advertise equal rights, the success of the few must mean the unfortunate of the many; especially in our modern society, members of a community, in addition to kinship and neighborhood connections, have Any connection is lost; there is nothing of mutual interest to communicate except for business. It is when economic behavior becomes the absolute main cause of interpersonal communication that interests naturally become the primary concern of people; secondly, the lack of public life. Participating in public life is the best way to discuss public topics and clarify public interests. People exchange opinions in public spaces, express their opinions on social conditions, and openly complain about injustices they encounter. These phenomena are all the best ways to form a sense of public interest. . However, generally speaking, my country's current public space is insufficient, and there are too strict regulations in some areas. Maybe this approach will help the country's long-term stability in some respects, but on the other hand, it will also make the civil society tend to be atomized, and lack of public Atomic individuals who participate in public life in space, of course, do not have the ability to think about the so-called public interests. Personal interests are everything, and individuals who originally paid attention to public interests will gradually lose interest and confidence in such a large environment; finally, friends Online social networking, such as circles, tends to be perfect in the presentation of individuals. People instinctively form a trend of comparison on social media, and personal suffering, injustice, and troubles are rare. Under such circumstances, in order to obtain performance-like pleasures on the Internet, people tend to strive for all things that can beautify themselves in real life.

Compared with the current prevailing "exquisite egoism", we hope that our society will have an upright moral environment and a just principle of life. , conscious altruism.

History is a great cemetery of human passions, hopes and interests, but reason and freedom have always marched victoriously in history.