ABSTRACT
In Chapter 1 we explored how different forms of self-interestprivate interest and civic virtue-affect political life. We considered self-interest purely in terms of the attitude an individual takes toward his wants, since this attitude determines the manner in which he will try to maximize his satisfaction. That is, we considered self-interest in the abstract-apart from the psychological mechanisms that mold human motivation. Let us now begin to explore how, on Rousseau’s view, different forms of self-interest take shape, given the facts of human nature.
