Files
markitect-main/examples/infospace-with-history/output/entities/self-interest.md
tegwick 2d1282a61e feat(infospace): flat canonical entity set with cross-chapter deduplication
Restructure entity storage from per-chapter subdirectories to a flat
canonical set in output/entities/. Each entity exists as a single file;
duplicates across chapters are detected by slug collision and skipped
(first occurrence wins). Chapter views use {{ include }} transclusion
to reference shared entity files.

Add @{existing_entities} macro to extract-entities template so the LLM
knows which entities already exist and focuses on genuinely new ones.
Refactor _call_llm() from _execute_llm() for callers that handle their
own file I/O. 41 unique entities from 4 chapters (2 duplicates removed).

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
2026-02-11 22:24:20 +01:00

35 lines
1.2 KiB
Markdown

# Self-interest
## Definition
The motivation of individuals to pursue their own advantage in economic
transactions. Smith argues that in civilised society, individuals obtain the
co-operation of others not through appeals to benevolence but by engaging
their self-love — showing them that it is to their own advantage to provide
what is desired. Self-interest is the engine that makes exchange function:
each party to a bargain acts from regard to their own benefit.
## Source Chapter
Book I, Chapter 2: "Of the Principle which gives Occasion to the Division
of Labour"
## Context
Smith introduces self-interest through the celebrated passage about the
butcher, brewer, and baker. He contrasts it with benevolence, arguing that
we cannot rely on the goodwill of others for our daily needs in a society
of many, and that self-interest provides a more reliable and universal basis
for economic co-operation.
## Economic Domain
General Theory
## Smith's Original Wording
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that
we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address
ourselves, not to their humanity, but to their self-love, and never talk to
them of our own necessities, but of their advantages."