Ethical Egoism and Capitalism Essay

good egoism, in general, is suggestive that either private would act according to his or her proclaim interests. gibe to the prop singlents of honest egoism, every several(prenominal) or both radical leave constantly be pushed to promote ones own own(prenominal) interests regardless of how some others would view their decisions. However, a personal interest is viewed as a long-term commitment based on the approximations presented by the proponents of honourable egoism. Here, personal interest does not tho cover the basic wants of an private, but quite a the inescapably of an case-by-case which ordain benefit the item-by-item or the groups for a longer period (Ethical Egoism, 2007).On the other hand, capitalist economy is an economicalalal worldview that promotes the accruement of capital for a long-term period. capitalism as an economic thought is largely individualistic, and is most of the time concentrate on the individual who plays as the main player i n all capitalistic endeavors. As such, the proponents of capitalist economy greatly believe that every individual or group of individuals is al styluss in quest of attaining their addresss and interests (Hooker, 1996). Ethical egoism and capitalist economy, though be two different world perspectives build a distinct connection.In some ways, good egoism has widely influenced the growth and the process at which capitalism works. Both ideas are centered on pursuing and fulfilling the individuals personal interests. And as such, the tenets of ethical egoism have release one of the most motivating factors in the capitalist world. Epicurus had his own idea involving ethical egoism. Epicurus defined self interest based on the recreation that fulfillment of such self-centeredness lot give. According to Epicurus, delight is only attained whenever the idea of ache is quickly vanquished. Hence, one mustiness be ultimately with his or herself in erect to become happy and fulfill ed.And as such, he added that to live in a pleasant way, individuals must find to life in a prudent and honest way (Epicurus, 2002, 278). In accordance to this, Epicurus withal added that individuals, while fulfilling their needs and self-interests must also lease to become self sufficient, stable and not reliant on chances, and must be complete (Ethical Egoism, 2007). These characteristics suggest that an individual, while being self sufficient, must only focus on the immediate and basic needs rather than giving up to the pleasures and unnecessary wants.As such, if mint have become lured to unneeded pleasure, their desires will not be fulfilled and satiated, and will only let pain and discontent amongst the people. maculation Epicurus suggested that the ultimate examination for pleasure is the elimination of all causes of pain, he also concluded that grounds and virtue are two of the most important factors in attaining happiness. As such, rational choices must be do in ord er to be fulfilled. Any wrong and irrational choice committed will cause discontent and unrest to the people, thus should be avoided (Younkins, Epicurus on Freedom and Happiness, 2007)Capitalism, on the other hand, is also founded on almost the same tenets. Capitalism is also geared towards achieving fulfillment which can be attained through the accumulation of capital goods, which capitalist entrepreneurs desire. Like how each tenet of ethical egoism is defined, the proponents of capitalism also strongly believe that a capitalist is always in search of satisfaction and fulfillment, which can only be achieved if his or her self-interests are being quenched.Like ethical egoists, capitalists are also focused on the attainment of individual satisfaction. And as such, every single capitalist puts a lot of effort into giving an assurance that each of his own capitalist endeavors is being realized and put into effect. Profit, as the main goal of the capitalists, is the counterpart of plea sure for an ethical egoist. While in ethical egoism, pleasure is only attained by eliminating sources of pain and discontent, lolly is being considered as the main source of motivation and happiness for capitalists.In this light, profit is obtained by capitalists through the sheer use of intellect, competitive skills, and thorough reasoning in order to equip themselves in a tough competition among other and fellow capitalists. In access to this, another character that links capitalism with ethical egoism, is the distinctive pursuit of morality behind the two ideologies. While ethical egoism greatly regards moral and righteousness for the attainment of their goals, in the capitalist perspective, capitalism is an avenue wherein moral is an imperative towards the creation of tender outline that will help realize the goals of a capitalist.Capitalism, hence is a system that encourages the practice of enhancing self-determination and giving priority to moral agencies for the system to function well (Younkins, 2007). Capitalism is also based establishing a loaded set of moral cheers. Capitalism is a system that operates on a strictly governed set of institutions that ensures that each move and actions are always watched. And in order to maintain the balance amongst the players in the system, every action made can be open to reward or sanctions.In addition to this, self-interests at bottom a capitalist system are attained by valuing the balance between the needs and substantial gains. And as such, every value system and social norms are always honored in within the capitalist arena (Cilliers, 2008, pp. 30-31). In a way, the quench for self-interest and pursuit for material wealth are always related within the economic system. Pursuing every kind of self-interest and wishing to attain material wealth are always tied to the economic order, and such, the goal and the essence must be properly coordinated.The capitalist system works in hand with the ideals of the e thical egoism in such a way that, both ideologies will suggest that in any kind of self-interest, one must always be able to determine the more than prioritized flavor of the individuals well-being. In both the underlying tenets in capitalism and ethical egoism, self-interest plays a huge role. Both of the ideologies suggest that, self-interest is one thing that should always be satiated by any individual. Failure to attain this will make human beings discontented for their lives, and such will always push to gain more.While in ethical egoism, the individuals pursuit is directed towards eliminating his or her source of pain in order to attain pleasure in capitalism, the individuals self-interest is directed in gaining profit which he or she can attain by eliminating competition or by triumphantly overcoming any kind of competition that comes in his or her way. However, there are authoritative limitations that must be taken consideration in this pursuit of each self-interest or profit. As stated in ethical egoism, an individual must know how to control his or her pleasures.The excess of wanting overly much material wealth will eventually establish discontent, unhappiness and pain on the individual. This goes the same in capitalism every individual must learn how to control his or pursuit of gaining more profit that how it is supposed to work. If an individual or the whole society believes that they deserve more than what is rightful for them, the society will be in chaos. And as such, the people will become rather more dissatisfied, and order will be more oblivious to the minds of the people.The parallelism of the tenets between ethical egoism and capitalism shows the distinct comparison and similarity of the ideas contributing to both ideologies, with self-interest at the core of ethical egoism and capitalism. In essence, self-interest is what drives both ethical egoism and capitalist to achieve its purpose. Ethical egoism shares its influence with cap italism in such a way that ethical egoism shows that there is something that an individual wishes to attain. Alongside these wants and needs, an individual is ought to follow certain measures in order to fulfill his or purpose.And most importantly, there should always be limits to what an individual should wish to have. Excessively wanting something, in within either the tenets of ethical egoism and capitalism, will always be detrimental to the status of every individual or in any society.ReferencesCilliers, J. (2008). Global Capitalism topical anesthetic Values. St. Gallen Symposium. Switzerland University of St. Gallen. Epicurus. Principle Doctrines. Classics of Political and Moral Philosophy. Ed. Steven M. Cahn. New York Oxford University Press, 2002. Ethical Egoism. (2007).Center for Ethical Deliberation. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from http//www. mcb. unco. edu/ced/perspectives/egoism. cfm Hooker, R. (1996). Capitalism. The European Enlightenment. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from http//www. wsu. edu/dee/GLOSSARY/CAPITAL. HTM Younkins, E. W. (2007). Epicurus on Freedom and Happiness. La Quebecois Libre. Retrieved October 2, 2008, from http//www. quebecoislibre. org/07/071111-4. htm Younkins, E. W. (2007). Capitalism The Only Moral Social System. La Quebecois Libre. Retrieved October 3, 2008, from http//www. quebecoislibre. org/07/071111-4. htm