Taraz, you wrote about my fav topic! LOL. I am going to bore you to death.
To each their own
Incomplete, Taraz, incomplete!!
Governing Dynamics....Adam Smith's century old economic theory: "In competition, individual ambition serves the common good"
However, Adam Smith was wrong!
Dr. John Nash's famous PhD thesis proved him wrong.
Dr. Nash proved:
the best result will come from everyone in the group doing what's best for himself … and the group.
It was beautifully featured in a scene of The Beautiful Mind
And that is Nash Equilibrium! One of the pioneering economic theories of our time!
I should have had a question mark :D
And yes, the best result is maximizing the self, which almost undoubtedly means supporting the group too. One can really only maximize oneself if living the life of a hermit. But, once there are two people, the maximization of the self that is possible increases as there are more resources and the ability to compound results. Two people can lift a heavier log to make a shelter than one person can alone.