People who intend to serve only the public interest are led by an invisible hand to serve private interests which was no part of their intention.

Self-interest is not myopic selfishness. It is whatever it is that interests the participants, whatever they value, whatever goals they pursue. The scientist seeking to advance the frontiers of his discipline, the missionary seeking to convert infidels to the true faith, the philanthropist seeking to bring comfort to the needy - all are pursuing their interests, as they see them, as they judge them by their own values.

awareness of a problem does not mean much — particularly when you have special interests and self-serving institutions in play.

Although Americans justify their self-interest in moral terms, their true interest is never itself moral.

to pursue your own interests is prudent; to pursue the public interest as well is pious; but to pursue your own pleasure by depriving others of theirs is unjust.

government to force people to act against their own immediate interests in order to promote a supposedly general interest.

The less a person understands his own feelings, the more he will fall prey to them. The less a person understands the feelings, the responses, and the behavior of others, the more likely he will interact inappropriately with them and therefore fail to secure his proper place in the world.

"That is why, as Adam Smith put it, an individual who "intends only his own gain" is "led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.

It is a strange experience for a man of pride and feeling to know that his interests are in the control of strangers who don’t like or understand him.

Remember that most people will pretend to operate in your interest while operating in their own.

Most people don’t know why they’re doing what they’re doing. They imitate others, go with the flow, and follow paths without making their own. They spend decades in pursuit of something that someone convinced them they should want, without realizing that it won’t make them happy.

Don’t depend on people unless you understand their motivations and you are confident that your interests align with theirs.

Bad people...are in conflict with themselves; they desire one thing and will another, like the incontinent who choose harmful pleasures instead of what they themselves believe to be good.

It is difficult to know yourself if you do not know others.