“ Every body has selfish and unselfish interests, and a selfish man has cultivated the habit of caring for the former and not caring for the latter. ”
John Stuart Mill, Considerations on Representative Government (1861). copy citation
| Author | John Stuart Mill |
|---|---|
| Source | Considerations on Representative Government |
| Topic | interest care |
| Date | 1861 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5669/5669-h/5669-h.htm |
Context
“If you wish to know what is practically a man's interest, you must know the cast of his habitual feelings and thoughts. Every body has two kinds of interests—interests which he cares for and interests which he does not care for. Every body has selfish and unselfish interests, and a selfish man has cultivated the habit of caring for the former and not caring for the latter. Every one has present and distant interests, and the improvident man is he who cares for the present interests and does not care for the distant. It matters little that on any correct calculation the latter may be the more considerable, if the habits of his mind lead him to fix his thoughts and wishes solely on the former.”
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