自私(Selfishness)

自私(Selfishness)是什么？我的理解自私就是最大化你的个人利益(maximize yourself's utility).
学了点经济学，似乎众多经济模型都基于一条假设：每个人都在尽可能的最大化个人利益，也就是说人都是自私的。
What is selfishness? To my understanding, it is maximizing yourself's utility.
Based on what I learned from Economics, it seems that lots of models are based on the assumption: everyone is trying to maximize himself's utility. In another word, everyone is selfish.

自私听起来是个贬义词，而最大化个人利益却变得中性。
Selfishness is a derogatory term, but maximizing someone self's utility is neutral.

这自私在中国是被批判的。古代社会我就不谈了，因为我觉得我语文历史学得烂，并没有怎么研读古人的著作，不好妄加评论，所以我就从我生出来以后开始说。中国的道德观(ethics)不强调个人，而强调集体。像我们从小认识的英雄"董存瑞"，"黄继光"，他们为了中国的解放，一个炸死了自己，一个拿自己的身体堵枪眼，他们牺牲了个人的利益，为了集体的利益。像那个全心全意为人民服务的"雷锋"，最后光荣的死在为人民服务的过程中。又像我们小时候背得烂熟的“五讲四美三热爱”的三热爱，热爱祖国、热爱社会主义、热爱共产党，就是没有热爱自己。又像现在胡哥的“八荣八耻”，以热爱祖国为荣、以危害祖国为耻，以服务人民为荣、以背离人民为耻，以团结互助为荣、以损人利己为耻，无不歌颂着人作为集体的一份子，应该以最大化集体利益(maximize group's utility)为自己的目标。
Selfishness is being criticized in China. Since I'm not familiar with ancient history and literature, I don't feel myself has the right to judge them, so my range is narrowed to what I know from when I was born. Chinese ethics emphasize on the group(or society), but not individual. Like the familiar heroes I learned from textbook in my childhood, "Dong Cunrui" and "Huang Jiguang". One exploded himself and one used his own body to block bullets for the liberation of People's Republic of China. Like "Lei Feng", who were serving the people with his whole heart and died when he was serving the people. Like the slogan "love your country, love socialism, love the Communist Party" hanging over all places during my primary school's years, but without "love yourself". Like Hu Jingtao's "Eight Honors and Eight Shames", "Love the country; do it no harm. Serve the people; never betray them. Be united, help each other; make no gains at others' expense." Everything from our education is saying: "As a part of the society, an individual's goal should be maximizing the society's utility".

但是这真正做到不自私自利的人又有多少呢？这几天读龙应台的《野火集》，"中国人，你为什么不生气？" 大街上被撞伤的小孩没人理，钓鱼客对被污染的的河道视若无睹，被香烟熏得难以忍受也还继续忍受。这就是中国人的"忍"，凡事不到自己头上都睁一只眼闭一只眼。乍一听，这似乎与自私自利毫无关系，因为这些事情并没有最大化他们的个人利益(maximize themselve's utility)。但其实让我们分析一下这中国人为什么"忍"呢？无非是怕惹麻烦上身。如果去管了这被撞伤的小孩，万一小孩到时候反赖上你怎么办？且不说在帮助他的过程中浪费的时间和金钱。如果去投诉污染河道的工厂，如果到时候工厂的恶霸找到你家门口怎么办？且不说这期间浪费的电话费。如果去制止公共场所吸烟的人，如果他们反揍你一顿又怎么办？
However, how many people are really maximizing the society's utility instead of maximizing themselves' utility? I have been reading Long Yingtai's these days. "Chinese, why aren't you angry?" No one cares the child wounded on the street; even the fishing ones don't care about the polluted river; people who cannot tolerate the smoke are still tolerating. This is Chinese's great "tolerance", trying to avoid everything not their business. It seems that tolerance has nothing to do with selfishness, however, if we analyze why Chinese are tolerating, we will see the relation of tolerance and selfishness. Most Chinese choose to tolerate because they are afraid of the potential trouble. If I helped the wounded child, what if the child tell others that I was the one who wounded him? let alone the time and money I wasted to help him. If I complained the factory which polluted the river, what if they revenge me? let alone the fee of the phone calls. If I criticized the smoker, what if they are rude to me, or even beat me?

经济学中有个"机会成本"(opportunity cost)，就是说你为了做一件事情而需要付出的代价。在最大化你的个人利益时，你是不能不考虑这些机会成本的。利益是什么？是你的收入减去你的成本。成本越大，你的利益也就越小。中国人是聪明的，他们不仅聪明，而且善于将这些小聪明运用到生活中的点点滴滴。如果我帮了这个小孩，我的收入或许也就是这小孩和他父母的一声感谢，但是我的成本是什么？带他上医院我将浪费的时间，可能收不回来的医药费，如果被小孩反咬一口还可能的赔偿费。怎么算都是一笔只赔不赚的生意，我干嘛要做呢？如果我去投诉了污染河道的工厂，我的收入最多也就是一条干净的河道供我钓鱼，而我的成本却是数不清的投诉电话费，还有没准引来的打击报复。如果我去制止了公共场所吸烟的人，我的收入也就是这暂时的清新的空气，而成本却可能是恶语相向，拳打脚踢。中国人脑袋聪明，算得也快，这不能最大化个人利益的生意是不会做的。人人都有当经济学家的潜力。
There is a term in economics, "opportunity cost", which means the cost you need to give up when you are doing something. To maximize yourself's utility, you have to consider the opportunity cost. What is profit(related to utility)? it is your avenue minus your cost. The bigger the cost, the smaller the profit. Chinese are smart, they are not just smart, they are good at utilizing their smartness to every aspects of their lives. If I helped the child, my avenue is probably just a "thank you" from him and his parents, but the my cost is the time and money I wasted taking him to the hospital, and probably damages I have to pay if the child tell others I was the one who wounded him. If I complained about the factory which polluted the river, my avenue is just a clean river where I can fish, but my cost is the fee of countless complain phone calls and potential revenge. If I stopped the smoker, my avenue is just the temporary clean air, but my cost may be dirty words and getting beat up. Chinese are smart, and they calculate fast, they won't do the business which cannot maximize their utility. Everyone has the potential to be economists.

可是转念一想，最大化个人利益又有什么错呢？达尔文(Darwin)的《物种起源》(The origin of species)发现了什么？发现的也就是"物竞天择，适者生存"的自然选择(natural selection)。那些最能够适应环境，最能够最大化个人利益的存活了下来。或许，这最大化个人利益，也就是自私，才是真理？才是千古不变的事实？人总是试图将自己和动物区分开来，却还是逃脱不了这自私的动物本性(animal nature)。
But if we think in another way, what's wrong with maximizing someone self's utility? What did Darwin discover in his <The origin of species>? It's natural selection. The ones who adapted to the environment best, the ones successfully maximized themselves' utility survived. Probably to maximize someone self's utility, e.g., selfishness, is the truth, is the fact never changed. Human are always trying to differentiate themselves from animals, but they still cannot escape from the animal nature, selfishness.

资本主义市场经济和社会主义集体经济的区别是什么？资本主义市场经济是承认人自私的，但是“看不见的手”却平衡着这个人的自私，从而达到集体利益的最大化。社会主义集体经济则从根本上就否认个人利益的最大化能够带来集体利益的最大化，要最大化集体利益就必须消灭自私。
What is the difference between Capitalism's market economy and Socialism's group economy? Capitalism's market economy acknowledge that individuals are selfishness, but the "invisible hand" is balancing the individuals' selfishness and at the same time, the group's utility is maximized. Socialism's group economy criticize the maximization of individuals' utility, it believes that to maximize the group's utility, selfishness has to be killed.

社会主义集体经济是失败的。这是否就意味着消灭自私是不可能的？因为人本来就是自私的，这是人性(human nature)，或者说是动物本性(animal nature)，物竞天择，适者生存，不最大化个人利益的终究将被淘汰，而剩下的也就只有"自私自利"的人了。
History turns out that Socialism's group economy failed, does this mean it is not possible to kill selfishness? cause human are born being selfish, it is the human nature, or animal nature. Natural selection, the ones who don't maximize their utility are going to be eventually eliminated, so the ones left are the ones who are selfish.