PO102 Study Guide - Final Guide: Humanitarian Intervention, Genetically Modified Organism, Nation Language
8 Feb 2018
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Individualist perspective a perspective that views human beings as acting primarily in accordance with their own interests. A community is a collection of individuals each pursuing his or her own interests. Thus, it is na ve or hopelessly idealistic to expect people (whether as voters, politicians, or government officials) to deliberately act for the common good, particularly when that involves sacrificing their own interests. Those who hold individualist perspective often argue that if every person is free to pursue his or her own interests, the result will lead to the best overall result for the members of the community. Adam smith suggested that if individuals pursue their own economic self- interests in a competitive free-market system, the result would be maximization of wealth of the society. Democracy is often seen as the form of government most likely to actually pursue the common good.
