In school we were always taught that selfishness was a bad trait and we should try to be as generous and altruistic towards others as possible. But is that how that virtue really good??
Coming to real world I learnt, what we were told in school was utter Bull%$&$ and this quote from Scottish economist gave me an epiphany.
Source
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interestAccording to smith, an "invisible hand" guides the economy and without every individual pursuing their own interest, the economy would never function!--Adam Smith (Father of economic theory)
We all have five senses- sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. And all of us want to elevate these 5 senses, whatever we ever do in this world is to elevate these 5 senses. And why do we want to elevate these senses, the simple answer is dopamine( our brain's reward system). In some sense, if it weren't for dopamine ,humans would've gone extinct long time ago.
We spend 40 hours a week ,sometimes even more working and then we use compensation earned to eat good food,(taste and smell) travel different places(sight), watch movies(sight), listen to music(hearing), have good sex(touch).
Many people argue that we do need to be selfish to do a good deed. But fact of matter is even doing a random good deed is itself a selfish act. For example ,if you do charity and donate a large sum of money, you are rewarding yourself with respect from everyone for being "generous". Even if you donate in secret, you are still rewarding yourself by feeling good about it which automatically spikes your dopamine levels!
Let's consider this platform itself, would anyone care to upvote if there were no curation rewards whatsoever?
So is it wrong to be selfish? That's like asking is it wrong you were born as male or female!!