I think Rand would say selfishness is exactly the right word.
Greg | 07.12.07 - 7:52 am | #

I think Friedman said the social responsibility of business is to make money. So you could say "social responsibility". Or self-interest. Or how about coining a word -- something like "individualtruism"?
Baylen | Homepage | 07.12.07 - 9:58 am | #

Egoistic.
Eion | 07.12.07 - 10:46 am | #

I agree that Rand would define selfishness that way, but that is rare.

Egoistic does mean that, but I'll admit that I didn't know that word until I read Rand. I had never heard it used anywhere else.

Baylen, help me out here. Is Sara Taylor attractive? I can't figure it out... Seriously. On the video on theagitator.com she looks pretty good but some of the images on Google... not so much. I need help with this.
Nate_In_08 | 07.12.07 - 10:53 am | #

I think that the phrase that's usually used to describe the phenomenon is "enlightened self-interest."

The phrase is hindered by its ambiguity. It's not clear what, exactly, "enlightened" means. Although the term does work well enough to communicate that while its okay to camp out for the Bon Jovi tix, it's not okay to push her down just so you can get a better look at JBJ.
pizzle | 07.12.07 - 12:29 pm | #

her = the old lady in front of you
pizzle | 07.12.07 - 12:29 pm | #

"Principled self-interest" may sum it up
Area Man | 07.12.07 - 3:44 pm | #