We cannot be wisely altruistic, because we do not know and cannot know the needs of others as we know our own. All men are afflicted with a universal welfareshortage. Therefore, men are subjected to a coercion from circumstances. This coercion from circumstances is to be distinguished sharply from coercion by men. The latter is contrary to the law of God, and it is equally contrary to sound economics.
Men conserve much more conscientiously what is their own than what belongs to others.
This is an astonishing proposition. We showed mathematically that selfishness indubitably contributes to human cooperation and spectacularly to human welfare. We contrasted that fact with a confused medievalistic type of thinking in regard to what holds society together. The main influence holding society together is selfishness operating in a framework involving division of labor. But the question still remains.