4 ms·

So anything but giving things away for totally free is selfish? E.g., the person selling you bread is selfish?

• profquail 13y ago
  Now what if I told you that even giving things away for totally free could sometimes be selfish? Instead of thinking of "selfish" as the thing you were scolded for as child (i.e., a bad thing), think of it as "self-interested". In and of itself, self-interest is neither "good" nor "bad". Using your example, the person selling you bread is selfish -- the price you pay probably covers their production costs, plus some additional profit for their take-home pay. If they just started giving the bread away for free (i.e., they're no longer self-interested), you may see that as a good thing -- but what happens when the bakery closes down because it can't pay the bills any longer? Now, you're forced to bake your own bread, at least until a new bakery opens (if ever). So, to re-iterate my earlier point with this new definition of selfish: Taking somebodies code and not contributing back is self-interested. Some manager may see this as an easy way to get ahead, without realizing that they may actually be _worse off_ by not contributing back to the project (e.g., the project stalls out and now they're stuck using stale code and trying to maintain things themselves). Using the GPL because you want to "get a return on your investment" is also self-interested. The self-interest there should be obvious, but for bonus points compare it to the definition of a cartel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel
  • maxharris 13y ago
    Instead of thinking of "selfish" as the thing you were scolded for as child (i.e., a bad thing), think of it as "self-interested". In and of itself, self-interest is neither "good" nor "bad". If you have some time, watch this video on self-interest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URTFDijUEY8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URTFDijUEY8