First, transcending self-interest . It seems to me of course that no one can claim realistically to be completely disinterested. Temple s understanding of the importance of self-interest is suggestive for our own age and circumstances. Self-interest is a positive thing if it is harnessed to the good of society and to serving our fellow men and women. Poor nations are not noted for their generosity to the destitute.
Distributed wealth can only come from wealth to distribute.
Moreover the nation has to earn its living just as much as any citizen. Nor in my view should any of us have inhibitions about striving for excellence through strenuous competition, so long as the winners do not behave improperly or trample on the losers. I do not believe that any vision of society that overlooks these points will be taken very seriously, nor indeed should it be. On the other hand, once the pursuit of individual gain is disconnected from a wider sense of moral purpose, or becomes a substitute for thinking about a shared sense of purpose at all, then we are in deep trouble. So you see we re all on the side of the angels or at least we have the potential to be.