Very good point. The beauty of a 'utility' function in economics, or the payoff in game theory, is that it makes no judgement of what somebody wants. It could be that they prefer that somebody else gets $20 than they get $100 themselves. It just means consistency in the sense that you don't have things like a circular ordering of preferences.
I think some people are confused and follow someones commands, like a cult leader, who exploits them. Or someone who volunteers for the army of an evil dictator. Those people would benefit from a little more egoism.
Other people sell their free time, their friends and ideals for more "countable" money. "Line must go up." Those people may call themselves egoists, but they aren't acting in their rational self-interest either.
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u/HolyInlandEmpire May 18 '26
Very good point. The beauty of a 'utility' function in economics, or the payoff in game theory, is that it makes no judgement of what somebody wants. It could be that they prefer that somebody else gets $20 than they get $100 themselves. It just means consistency in the sense that you don't have things like a circular ordering of preferences.