Z:gnu-www-ja-self-interest--639bfc-Self-interest can be a powerfu/en

Self-interest can be a powerful fuel for a society, at least when the citizens of that society are well-formed individuals, but there is no mystical or magical aspect to self-interest that guarantees moral results. Self-interest will lead to generally moral results to the extent that moral constraints, external but mostly internal, guide the actions of the self-interested parties. A society with the proper constraints does not come into existence by some act of magic, but rather by the acts of people who are aiming at a higher purpose, whether the preservation of liberty in the society as a whole or the preservation of a cooperative spirit within communities of programmers, or maybe both of those at the same time.