There might be drafted soldiers who really want to kill and die overseas, taxpayers who really believe bailouts and bombs are both just and necessary and children who really want to spend Thanksgiving at Grandma’s house.But most of us perform these duties because of moral bullying. We’re told selflessness is a virtue and selfishness a contemptible vice.It’s hard to see how this can be the case.If someone tells you to be selfless, they’re commanding you to act on someone else’s desires instead of your own.In other words, they desire that you ignore your desires. They want you to be selfless for selfish reasons.Imploring for selflessness is hypocritical.As long as people aren’t using force or fraud on others, they should be free to make their lives as good as possible.As Adam Smith, the father of modern economics, famously put it, it’s “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.”You go to work because your boss pays you. Your boss pays you because you bring value to the workplace. Your customers pay your boss because they’re buying a product worth having.Self-interested self-betterment is the root of human cooperation.Selfishly demanding others altruistically abandon their preferences is bigotry. Understanding what others desire is the root of empathy. Finding ways for you and them to benefit is good business.In our personal lives, the fear of appearing selfish makes us dishonest about our motives and self-attack when we achieve success.In our political beliefs, fear of selfishness breeds hatred for those who achieve the goal of business — profit.Profits are what happens when benefits exceed costs.Profits aren’t a transfer from poor to rich. Profits are an exchange.When some critics are pressed, they’ll clarify they’re not against profits but against “excess profits.” Charging a dollar for water is “fair,” but charging three dollars for water is “excessive.”I also think three dollars is an excessive price for a bottle of water. In fact, I wouldn’t pay one dollar for bottled water.But some people do. Different people have different preferences and consider prices excessive at different levels. You decide how much you’re willing to pay for something.It’s arrogant bigotry to make that decision for others.That’s not to say there aren’t times when prices are too high.For instance, American health insurance is often sold at an unreasonable premium.If only insurance companies were allowed to compete across state lines and tax incentives didn’t prejudice individual buyers, then more people could selfishly try to extract as much profit as possible and prices would be lower.Even if you’re against profits for aesthetic reasons, the easiest way to get rid of them is to legalize competition.Similarly, in your personal life you may know unaesthetically self-interested, callous people.But they don’t need moral bullying to care about others, just better incentives.Parents who want their children to succeed selfishly pay for them to go to college. Lovers who want their partners to be happy selfishly “sacrifice” for the one they care about.The problem isn’t selfishness but a lack of empathy.You want moral, empathetic selfishness in all your interactions.If you have a significant other, it’s because the benefits of keeping him or her are greater than the costs — including the lost chance of being with someone else.You want your lover to lean into your ear and whisper, “I selfishly want you.” Not “I’ll selflessly stay with you despite the fact you’re a drain on my happiness.”Selflessness is an obligation.Selfishness is sexy.Daniel Morgan is a 21-year-old economics senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_dmorgan.– – – -Contact Daniel Morgan at [email protected]