The Beneficiary Statement and Beyond

Abstract

The beneficiary statement refers to a passage in the Introduction of The Virtue of Selfishness. It concerns who the beneficiary of an action should be and any breach between actor and beneficiary. This article critiques said passage and shows how rational self-interest extends beyond the actor’s self-interest more narrowly conceived. It critiques the Trader Principle and shows further how trade extends rational self-interest beyond the actor’s self-interest more narrowly conceived. It shows how the virtue of independence does not imply that all dependence is a vice. Dependence in collaborative action even extends to the virtue of productiveness.