Enlightened Self-Interest
Individualism, Community, and the Common Good
Published on 1. April 2024
Book
Hardback
328 pages
978-1-64712-390-1 (ISBN)
Description
Insights into a compassionate alternative to a ruthlessly self-interested capitalist culture
Societally sanctioned competition for money, power, and fame promotes selfishness, personal alienation, and widespread inequality, especially in market-oriented economies. Yet many of those engaging in this competitive individualism-the competition for rewards and limited resources-yearn to act directly to promote a more civil, equitable, and sustainable society.
Enlightened Self-Interest offers evidence-based insights into the societal and individual consequences of this cultural practice and an actionable alternative to it. This meticulously researched and empirically rooted reexamination of hypercompetition and zero-sum thinking presents inspiring examples of people who have reclaimed their own lives by contributing to a more civil, equitable, and sustainable society. They model the vision of enlightened self-interest, merging self-interest with other interests in pursuit of the common good, resulting in widely shared benefits.
Enlighted Self Interest provides a compelling case for incremental change and a series of actionable recommendations to jump-start a personal transition and to become part of a collective radical evolution.
Societally sanctioned competition for money, power, and fame promotes selfishness, personal alienation, and widespread inequality, especially in market-oriented economies. Yet many of those engaging in this competitive individualism-the competition for rewards and limited resources-yearn to act directly to promote a more civil, equitable, and sustainable society.
Enlightened Self-Interest offers evidence-based insights into the societal and individual consequences of this cultural practice and an actionable alternative to it. This meticulously researched and empirically rooted reexamination of hypercompetition and zero-sum thinking presents inspiring examples of people who have reclaimed their own lives by contributing to a more civil, equitable, and sustainable society. They model the vision of enlightened self-interest, merging self-interest with other interests in pursuit of the common good, resulting in widely shared benefits.
Enlighted Self Interest provides a compelling case for incremental change and a series of actionable recommendations to jump-start a personal transition and to become part of a collective radical evolution.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Washington, DC
United States
Target group
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
Not illustrated
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
431 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64712-390-1 (9781647123901)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Thomas J. Bussen | Henry Biggs | Timothy Bono
Enlightened Self-Interest
Individualism, Community, and the Common Good
E-Book
04/2024
Georgetown University Press
€29.49
Available for download
Persons
Thomas J. Bussen is an assistant teaching professor of business management at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His most recent book is Shaping the Global Leader: Fundamentals in Culture and Behavior for Optimal Organizational Performance (2019), coauthored with Henry Biggs and Lenny Ramsey.
Henry Biggs is founder and CEO of the higher education software company Eusabian Technologies. He also teaches international intellectual property law at Washington University in St. Louis.
Timothy Bono is an assistant dean in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, and lecturer in psychological and brain sciences, at Washington University in St. Louis. He is author of Happiness 101: Simple Secrets to Smart Living and Well-Being (2020).
Henry Biggs is founder and CEO of the higher education software company Eusabian Technologies. He also teaches international intellectual property law at Washington University in St. Louis.
Timothy Bono is an assistant dean in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, and lecturer in psychological and brain sciences, at Washington University in St. Louis. He is author of Happiness 101: Simple Secrets to Smart Living and Well-Being (2020).
Content
Introduction: An Anti-American Love Letter
Part 1: Culturally Extreme: Vertical Individualism in the American Context
1. A Cultural Toolbox: Social Conformity in a Culture of Individualism
2. Lonely and Unequal: The Lose-Lose Consequences of Unrestrained Vertical Individualism
3. Rigging, R-Evolution, and Redemption: From Rationalizing to Rectifying Extreme Inequality
Part 1 Conclusion
Part 2: Money, Power, and Fame: The Unholy Trinity of American Extremism
4. Status through Conformity: How to Fit In by Standing Out
5. Materialism: Why Less Is More
6. From Status-Seeking to Experience-Seeking: Spending Like a Horizontal Individualist
7. From Hedonism to Collectivism: Spending Like a Horizontal Collectivist
8. Power Plays and Pays: When Power Is Corrupting
9. From Predatory to Prestigious: When Power Is Purifying
10. Social Comparison, Superiority Complex, and Schadenfreude: When My Reputation Comes at Your Expense
11. Comparison, Inclusion, and Mudita: When Admiring Another Improves the Self
12. Altruistic to All: Tapping into the Horizontal Collectivist Global Identity
13. Loving Billions to Love Oneself: Generating Inner Self-Esteem from Without
Part 2 Conclusion
Part 3: Society and Self: Prospects and Pathways to Enlightened Self-Interest
14. Enlightened Self-Interest in Theory and Practice: Ubuntu and Ambition as Pathways
15. Minting the Future: Jump-Starting Your Own Transition
Conclusion
References
Index
About the Authors
Part 1: Culturally Extreme: Vertical Individualism in the American Context
1. A Cultural Toolbox: Social Conformity in a Culture of Individualism
2. Lonely and Unequal: The Lose-Lose Consequences of Unrestrained Vertical Individualism
3. Rigging, R-Evolution, and Redemption: From Rationalizing to Rectifying Extreme Inequality
Part 1 Conclusion
Part 2: Money, Power, and Fame: The Unholy Trinity of American Extremism
4. Status through Conformity: How to Fit In by Standing Out
5. Materialism: Why Less Is More
6. From Status-Seeking to Experience-Seeking: Spending Like a Horizontal Individualist
7. From Hedonism to Collectivism: Spending Like a Horizontal Collectivist
8. Power Plays and Pays: When Power Is Corrupting
9. From Predatory to Prestigious: When Power Is Purifying
10. Social Comparison, Superiority Complex, and Schadenfreude: When My Reputation Comes at Your Expense
11. Comparison, Inclusion, and Mudita: When Admiring Another Improves the Self
12. Altruistic to All: Tapping into the Horizontal Collectivist Global Identity
13. Loving Billions to Love Oneself: Generating Inner Self-Esteem from Without
Part 2 Conclusion
Part 3: Society and Self: Prospects and Pathways to Enlightened Self-Interest
14. Enlightened Self-Interest in Theory and Practice: Ubuntu and Ambition as Pathways
15. Minting the Future: Jump-Starting Your Own Transition
Conclusion
References
Index
About the Authors