This Day in History: Socialist philosopher Auguste Comte was born on this day in 1798. He was the man who coined the term "altruism" and believed that man's highest ideal was to live for others. One writer back in 1883, stated that "Comte's Altruism advances beyond the limits of Christian doctrine. He teaches that, instead of loving our neighbour as ourselves, we should endeavour not to love ourselves at all." Many today still uphold altruism as the highest moral ideal. I don't. Bill Gates may like giving away his money now, but he helped countless millions much more by selfishly developing his Windows operating system. Altruism simply does not put food on the table. As Adam Smith remarked back in 1776, "It is 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."
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