In my opinion, I agree that there is nothing inconsistent about the claim of ethical egoism that individuals have no moral duty to do what is not in their best interest. Everyone cannot adopt the policy to maximize one’s own interest because, with the policy, the interest of other people would be excluded. Ethical egoism advocate for altruism so that other people cannot infiltrate one’s interest. Therefore, this shows a consistent position. If a person has the desire to maximize his own interests, he will recommend others to be altruistic so that he can attain his goals.

In a modern context, one need to consider things that are immoral although the individual believes they will not incur negative consequences. Modern examples of Plato’s ring of Gyges include the following. The first example is the victimless crimes. These crimes include drug use, gambling, and prostitution. With victimless crimes, the actions do not have a direct threat to the rights of the groups involved. The second example includes sins committed by mega-corporations. Large companies commit sins, and they think that they cannot be held accountable. Ford Company portrays a good example. The company’s engineers produced Pinto although they knew it would cause accidents since it was unsafe. They thought that the lower cost of production would offset the payment on average claims. The “ring” failed since the company extremely underestimated the number of injuries and deaths caused by design faults.

Friendship is not purely egoistic. In friendship, one needs to act in the interest of the companion. Similarly, one would expect the other person to return the good will. This is contrary to the ethical egoism, which requires people to act in their interest. Therefore, friendship is not purely egoistic because true friends cannot always portray purely selfish motives.

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