Selfish altruism, isn’t that a contradiction in terms? It could be overly simplistic to say you’re either selfish or altruistic. Somewhere in the middle, perhaps?
To me, it’s abundantly clear: Selfish altruism is when you do something for yourself that may benefit another.
For example, I keep up the sailboats at the boat dock on a lake near me. It’s a great deal. $99 a year for all-you-can-eat sailing on Mercs, Hobies, MIT Techs, and RS Quests, whatever’s available. I’m a self-taught sailor and have learned to maintain boats along the way. So, I like to bail and clean the boat I’m using, maybe string the stays with a telltale from a ball of leftover yarn, supply from my own pocket a missing or broken piece of small hardware, string a bit of line for a downhaul, restring a badly strung pulley. I sponge all the birdshit off the benches or trampoline before going out. I like to sail a clean boat. When I leave it, every line is in place, out of the drink, tight, carefully tucked. Rudders up, sails furled properly and stowed, deck dry, everything better than when I arrived. Other people get the benefit of my efforts. They may not realize it, or know it’s me, and I’m okay with that. The staff likes to see me coming. I talk with them about the boats and wind conditions.
For years, I’ve been litter-policing the stretch of 150 yards or so on my lane…
