An "every-man-for-himself world" could be good or bad depending on whether the decisions were made with a knowledge of history ... and thus the consequences of the actions.

My vested self-interest is not to have my neighbor kill me in the night. Nor, if I kill him first, is it in my best interest to have many sleepness nights waiting for his family and friends to revenge my actions.

History teaches clearly that these are the consequences for bad acts whether those acts are selfish or generous in their origin.

DA Morgan