Only where we ourselves are responsible for our own interests and are free to sacrifice them has our decision moral value. We are neither entitled to be unselfish at someone else's expense nor is there any merit in being unselfish if we have no choice. The members of a society who in all respects are made to do the good thing have no title to praise.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Moral value requires personal responsibility and freedom to choose, including the option to act selfishly. Forced goodness has no merit.
- In plain terms
- You can only be morally good if you freely choose to be.
- What can you take from it?
- True virtue requires the freedom to do otherwise.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can someone be virtuous if they never have the chance to be otherwise?
- What role does coercion play in moral development?
Another view
Some argue social cohesion requires prioritizing collective good over individual choice.
More from Friedrich Hayek
Once politics become a tug-of-war for shares in the income pie, decent government is impossible.
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