Uhm, it is not that simple. Perhaps selfish people cooperate less, but among altruistic people often the price for cooperation is worshiping the same applause lights. Selfish people optimize for money or power, altruistic people often optimize for status in altruistic community. Selfish people may be more agenty, simply because they know that if they don’t work for their selfish benefits, no one else will. Altruistic people often talk about what others should do, what the government should do, etc. Altruistic people collect around different causes, they compete for donor money and public attention, even their goals may sometimes be opposed; e.g. “protecting nature” vs “removing the suffering inherent in nature”; “spreading rationality” vs “spreading religious tolerance”; “making people equal and happy” vs “protecting the cultural heritage”. People don’t like those who hurt others, but they also admire high-status people and despise low-status people. Geniuses are often crazy.
I’m not saying it is exactly the other way round as you said. Just: it’s complicated. I scanned through your comment and listed all the counterarguments that immediately came to my mind. If good intentions and intelligence translated to success so directly, then communists wouldn’t have killed millions of people, Mensa would rule the world now, and we all would be living in the post-singularity paradise already.
Uhm, it is not that simple. Perhaps selfish people cooperate less, but among altruistic people often the price for cooperation is worshiping the same applause lights. Selfish people optimize for money or power, altruistic people often optimize for status in altruistic community. Selfish people may be more agenty, simply because they know that if they don’t work for their selfish benefits, no one else will. Altruistic people often talk about what others should do, what the government should do, etc. Altruistic people collect around different causes, they compete for donor money and public attention, even their goals may sometimes be opposed; e.g. “protecting nature” vs “removing the suffering inherent in nature”; “spreading rationality” vs “spreading religious tolerance”; “making people equal and happy” vs “protecting the cultural heritage”. People don’t like those who hurt others, but they also admire high-status people and despise low-status people. Geniuses are often crazy.
I’m not saying it is exactly the other way round as you said. Just: it’s complicated. I scanned through your comment and listed all the counterarguments that immediately came to my mind. If good intentions and intelligence translated to success so directly, then communists wouldn’t have killed millions of people, Mensa would rule the world now, and we all would be living in the post-singularity paradise already.