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Michael Huemer argues that cross-cultural convergence toward liberal moral values is evidence of objective moral progress, and by extension, evidence for moral realism. Nathan Cofnas claims to debunk Huemer's argument by contending that convergence toward liberal moral values can be better explained by 'two related non-truth-tracking processes': self-interest and its long-term tendency to result in social conditions conducive to greater empathy. This article argues that although Cofnas successfully debunks Huemer's convergence argument for one influential form of moral realism – Robust Moral Realism, which holds that moral facts are non-natural, stance-independent normative facts – Cofnas's debunking argument broadly supports a second type of moral realism: Enlightened Self-Interest Realism, the view that moral facts are reducible to stance-dependent requirements of instrumental ('means-end') rationality. Finally, this article argues that insofar as different Enlightened Self-Interest Realist theories make specific predictions about the intra- and inter-personal mechanisms behind moral convergence toward liberalism, empirical observations of cross-cultural convergence can provide independent support for Enlightened Self-Interest Realism. I conclude that this is an important mark in favor of Enlightened Self-Interest Realism over Robust Moral Realism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the moderating effects of public deliberation on policy support determinants: self-interests, symbolic attitudes and sociotropic perceptions. It explores how individual attitudes and policy preferences evolve during deliberation, focusing on Gyeonggi Province's basic income policy held in 2020 in South Korea. The paper reveals that while public deliberation, through information and group discussions, reduces the influence of material self-interests on policy preferences, it has a relatively limited effect on symbolic attitudes and sociotropic perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the growing literature on youth transitions, comparatively little attention has been paid to the role that young people play as providers, particularly support for people outside of a nuclear family unit. Based on 92 interviews with 44 young adults living in rural Ghana, this research investigates the multiple reasons why they provide financial and in-kind support to a range of immediate, extended and non-family members. We create a typology of motivations, identifying eight reasons youth identified for supporting people across four generations. These drivers of support relate to the past, present and future and do not fall neatly into dichotomies of self-interest or altruism. Some are situational, dependent on the need of the recipient, the ability of the young person to provide support at that point in time and/or circumstances of other people in their broader family and social networks. Youth identified multiple reasons for supporting the same person and articulated different motivations depending on their relationship to the recipient and their gender. Together, these nuanced explanations offer insights into an often-overlooked aspect of youth transitions and a departure point for further research into the important role young people play in supporting others in their families and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does migration pose a threat to welfare state legitimacy? We address this prominent question with a multilevel analysis of novel survey data, the 'Inequality Barometer', which includes individual and local-level context data in Germany (6208 individuals, up to 401 local districts). Our results suggest that the public is more reluctant to support welfare where the proportion of migrants at the local level is larger. This effect even persists when welfare is directed at groups that are perceived as more deserving of welfare support (like children, sick or older individuals) and when we examine the levels of employed migrants (that pay into the welfare state). We also find that these effects are moderated by economic risk. Particularly, we find that individuals facing higher economic risk support welfare less than their counterparts when exposed to migration. Future research should expand the local-level approach and investigate the causal mechanisms that the welfare-migration nexus is based on in more detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-interest bias describes an observer’s tendency to judge moral transgression leniently when they benefit from it. However, what factors moderate the self-interest bias is an open empirical question. Here, we investigated to what extent hypocrisy moderates the self-interest bias. Preregistered Study 1a (N = 194) and replication in Study 1b (N = 193) demonstrated that observers’ interest impacts moral character judgments of hypocritical transgressors. This effect was explained by observers’ goal attainment due to transgression (Study 2, N = 713) and agreement to aid observers’ or ingroup interests (Study 3, N = 634). Importantly, transgressors’ hypocrisy moderated the impact of observers’ interests in moral character judgments (Studies 2 & 3). In summary, when judging hypocritical transgressors, peoples’ moral character judgments tend to be biased by their or their group’s interests. However, in comparison to non-hypocritical transgressors, this impact is less pronounced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workers have often advocated for regulation to protect themselves from labor market threats. Artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to transform many jobs in the coming years, especially those of white collar professionals. Yet we know little about the attitudes these and other workers hold or may develop toward the regulation of such technology. We argue that both self-interested and sociotropic concerns likely shape AI regulatory attitudes, and examine these arguments using a survey experiment exposing individuals to information about how technology will affect the work of people engaged in either routine, repetitive tasks or white collar, cognitive tasks. We anticipate that compared to a placebo group, individuals exposed to news about the impact of technology on jobs will favor regulation, and even more strongly when it is their own job type highlighted in the treatment. We find only modest responsiveness to the treatments on average, but observe that individuals with more knowledge of technology are strongly responsive to the AI treatments in the hypothesized manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robert de Ferrers III, the sixth earl of Derby, is generally considered an outlier in the events of the civil war in England between 1264 and 1266. His involvement in the rebellion centred on Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, has been widely interpreted as driven by self-interest and aggrandisement, defined by unorthodox levels of violence and lawlessness. This paper offers a comprehensive analysis of Robert's involvement in the rebellion across the Midlands in 1264, and places the surviving evidence within its wider contexts. In doing so, it shows that Ferrers' activities during 1264 were much more aligned with the baronial faction's strategic interests than is generally understood, and his behaviour was far from unorthodox. Through this analysis, the paper also illuminates how the chronicler William Rishanger's influence among modern historians is due a correction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ideology and self-interest are often in tension. If positive political theorists assume broad self-interest as the standard of human behaviour, they can accommodate people's ideological motivation to act for the common good. Yet, their theories may become tautological and empirically untestable. Conversely, if these theorists assume narrow self-interest, they increase testability. But because ideology seems incompatible with narrow self-interest, they often rule ideology out as a motivational driver. Positive political theorists can, however, combine ideology with narrow self-interest by assuming broad egoism. And in so doing, they should assume that ideology motivates political agents until it becomes too costly for these agents' material interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Are highly specialized hikers really more likely to behave in a pro-environmental manner? By discussing a negative linkage between recreation specialization and pro-environmental behavior, this study tackles a narrowly optimistic view that specialized hikers are always likely to behave pro-environmentally. We examined survey data from South Korean hikers and found that while recreation specialization does not significantly affect attitudes, it negatively affects perceived behavioral control. Further, all types of pro-environmental behavior were significantly impacted by their attitude, but only one pro-environmental behavior (i.e., following designated trails) was strongly impacted by perceived behavioral control. By synthesizing our findings with current literature, we suggest comprehensively evaluating all three motivational factors—self-interest, prosocial, and affective motivations—to predict pro-environmental behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite Adam Smith's seemingly firm entrenchment within the liberal tradition, in Theory of Moral Sentiments, he forwards several positions that fundamentally challenge this understanding. Chief among them is his argument that society is necessarily prior to the individual and that our socio-political context therefore shapes our perception of future possibilities. Thus, rational deliberation is not an ahistorical and universal phenomenon, but one that is structured by the context in which it occurs. Moreover, in Wealth of Nations, Smith brings this understanding to bear on socioeconomic relationships, demonstrating how they shape a person's temporal imagination, and consequently, their perception of self-interest. Far from adhering to a belief in the supremacy of rational self-interest, Smith actually helps us understand how different social contexts can engender profoundly irrational behavior. Using the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis as its primary case study, this article demonstrates that Smith's analysis offers a novel and penetrating approach to analyzing fiscal crises, while offering a generative approach for developing mitigating interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a model of cumulative advantage (CA) as an unintended consequence of the choices of a population of individuals. Each individual searches for a high quality object from a set comprising high and low quality objects. Individuals rationally learn from their own experience with objects (reinforcement learning) and from the observation of others' choices (social learning). We show that CA emerges inexorably as individuals rely more on social learning and as they learn from more rather than fewer others. Our theory argues that CA has social dilemma features: the benefits of CA could be enjoyed with modest drawbacks provided individuals would practice restraint in their social learning. However, when practiced by everyone such restraint goes against the individual's self-interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recommendations are a high form of community consultation, but rarely solicited in surveys of resident attitudes despite their potential to better inform planning and foster stronger event loyalty in an era of mega-event crisis. This paper innovates by identifying and structuring open-ended recommendations for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games from host region residents 10 years prior to that mega-event. From an online survey of 897 respondents, 946 discrete recommendations for event "success" were organised through thematic analysis into high level "event," "community" and "organiser" themes. In the emergent community vision for the Games derived from these themes, host city residents aspire for efficient, affordable, and authentic Games that benefit and involve the host community and learn from the past. The vision's focus on resident self-interest is unsurprising but challenges event organisers to accommodate the interests of multiple stakeholders. The aspiration for a sustainable community, nevertheless, is conducive to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and complements recent IOC reforms and the official 2032 Games Vision which call for greater responsiveness to host community interests. Under a framework of soft transformative governance, facilitating micro-transformations should ensure that marginalised groups are heard and their aspirations integrated into early mega-event planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In non-cooperative game-theory models, the Nash equilibrium concept is used to assess the outcome of rational decision-makers' strategic involvement. This method allows researchers to look into certain outcomes while keeping in mind people's self-interest restrictions. Participants, on the other hand, are not bound to provide accurate information when acting in their own self-interest. In this work, we investigate noncooperative behavior in a repeating game and suggest a new method in game theory for designing an observer. An average repeated non-cooperative Markov game with imperfect information is used to determine the categories of participants in this situation. A sequential technique, in which information is revealed a finite number of times, can approximate all of Nash's equilibria. By computing the derivative of the player's equilibrium with regard to his or her present type, we explain how to instrument the observer's design. The dynamic observer creates the imperfect information game. We study a Markov model extension that incorporates a new variable that reflects the product of the observer design and the distribution vector to solve the problem. The strategies and the observation kernel make up the observer design. In this approach, the approaches are first seen as mappings from private and reported states to lotteries over alternatives. We build equations to retrieve the variables of interest using the available type: observer, strategies, observation kernels, and distribution vectors. We provide a numerical example of an industrial organization in which enterprises compete on the market and decide on the amount of production they will produce simultaneously and independently of one another. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universities worldwide are beginning to counter the prevailing neo-liberal ideology by paying renewed attention to the moral development of students and fostering their life purposes. This mixed methods study investigates the life purposes of higher education students in four institutions in the Netherlands (nDutch = 663) and Finland (nFinnish = 846). Based on quantitative data, we identified four purpose profiles: purposeful, self-oriented, dreamer, and disengaged. Qualitative data showed that students' willingness to contribute to a better world was not particularly prominent. An exception was found in the data of a Dutch research university working with a specific worldview and value base and emphasizing moral education. We conclude that universities need to put more effort into educating young professionals whose life purpose goes beyond their self-interest and who are willing and able to address pressing societal and global problems. This particularly includes professionals in the domains of technology and economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on third-party reactions to workplace mistreatment has often focused on a moral perspective, but has devoted limited attention to the role of self-interest. Drawing from a self-interest perspective, we develop a conceptual model that examines how self-interest influences third-party responses to mistreatment within work teams. Several important relational (justice reputation, social status, relationship with the target, power) and situational (number of observers, mistreatment intensity) factors are posited to influence third-party perceptions of team members' expectations for their intervention, and perceptions of the expected salience of their response to their team members. These perceived expectations for intervention are theorized to positively influence the expected salience of their response, which is strengthened under conditions of ethical leadership, ethical climate, and ethical HRM practices. In turn, third parties use a cost-benefit analysis to decide how to respond in a manner that serves their interests, which is moderated by several key factors (probability that intervention alleviates the mistreatment, perceived risk of intervention, third-party vulnerability). We advance a novel process-based conceptual model that provides an alternative lens as to why third parties may intervene during mistreatment within work teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People presumably strive to maximize their own benefit whenever possible, so it is puzzling when they vote for leaders who may not have their best interest at heart. We tested whether support for a political leader is diminished when supporters learn they are financially disadvantaged by the leader's policies. In a two-stage experiment (Time 1 n = 601, Time 2 n = 343) with pre-registered hypotheses, Trump voters predicted their expected tax refund (or payment), and then reported their tax outcome immediately after the filing deadline. Afterwards, we confronted half of the participants with the discrepancy between their actual and predicted tax outcome. Having lower-than-expected tax outcomes was not associated with reduced support for Trump either on its own, or in combination with being reminded of this outcome. However, it led participants who were dissatisfied with their tax outcome to downgrade the importance of lowering taxes, possibly in an effort to reduce dissonance and justify continued support for Trump. Subjective tax outcome satisfaction did predict Trump support, but was dwarfed in magnitude by other variables such as system justification and political orientation. Thus, people may find ways to rationalize information that goes against their self-interest into their partisan world-view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on our fieldwork among the Chinese diaspora communities in Chile, this article on the diplomatic roles of diasporas challenges the conventional state-centric perspective on diplomacy. We propose that Chinese diasporas can carry out two core functions of diplomacy—the representation of and communication about a country—at the people-to-people level. Chinese diaspora diplomacy is fundamentally driven by diaspora members' interest in improving their socioeconomic position in the host society and highly influenced by their intercultural skills. The diplomatic practices of diasporas are heterogeneous and often spontaneous, ranging from collective diplomacy channelled through diaspora associations to individual diplomacy through diasporic business activities and daily expressions. Although these activities do not necessarily involve adherence to the governing agenda of a political regime, they often strive to promote China in the host society. Nonetheless, their outcomes may sometimes be at odds with China's interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the fierce and rising competition among food franchise brands, the relationship between franchisees and franchisors is critical. This study aims to examine the role of the franchisor-franchisee relationship in the formation of franchisees' commitment to franchise brands, especially the relative importance of multidimensional relationship constructs (i.e. economic exchange, social exchange, mutual interest, and self-interest) on franchisees' behaviour. Using 266 data points from U.S. food franchisees, the proposed model was tested with SmartPLS. The results show that social exchange most strongly influences franchisees' satisfaction with franchise brands, followed by economic exchange and mutual interest. However, perceived self-interest of franchise company does not significantly influence satisfaction. Satisfaction leads both affective and calculative commitment in franchisees. This study contributes to existing literature by structuring our understanding of the varying roles of multidimensional relationships in the franchise context. Franchise companies can benefit from this research through better knowledge of how to manage relationships with franchisees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The document is a correction notice for an article titled "Hypocrisy moderates self-interest bias in moral character judgments" published in the Journal of Social Psychology. The correction addresses the absence of the Table 1 Note and incorrect versions of Figures 3 and 4 in the original publication. The corrected Table 1 and Figures 3 and 4 are provided for reference, showing the impact of self-interest and hypocrisy on judgments of hypocrisy, liking, and moral character. [Extracted from the article]

This article identifies six root influence themes of South African public sector audit committee effectiveness. With members' independence, competence, internal auditing, and knowledge of the business being well documented, the themes of the committee's own leadership and external leadership are under-explored. Aspects added to the current body of knowledge include accepting accountability for decisions, the chair's extent of power and having the ability to take a stand against management malpractices for internal leadership. Political interference, the standing of the management team and the interaction between management and the committee are identified as external leadership influencers. Decision-makers, audit professionals and regulators should take note of these six root influences in general and destructive leadership behaviour in particular, to ensure that it is appropriately managed. With corporate governance failures abounding, audit committees' popularity may lie within their superficial ceremonial function, providing comfort and reassurance for stakeholders, rather than being truly effective in supporting sound governance. Employing an exploratory inductive design, the researchers searched for under-appreciated root influence(s) on audit committee effectiveness. Forty influences were identified—resulting in six root influence themes. The strength of the primary theme introduced a novel theoretical underpinning, namely organizational leadership theory, in particular the phenomenon of destructive leadership behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eurozone's export-oriented policy regime and pursuit of trade surpluses remains thoroughly puzzling. Rooted in overly strict fiscal policies, inequality and underinvestment; undermining growth and contributing to trade tensions– it defies economic self-interest. This paper develops an analytical framework to confront this puzzle. It argues that these policies are self-harming, but are nonetheless pursued, because of three fallacies that obscure the cost-benefit calculus attached to them. These fallacies are rooted in the empirical problem of observational equivalence: the same observed surplus can be driven by different underlying processes, and its net benefit will depend on our assumptions about these drivers. The first fallacy is mistaking external enablers for domestic competitiveness—interpreting export success to be linked to domestic reform, when it was largely explained by better links to faster growing trading partners. The second fallacy is mistaking weak imports for strong exports—interpreting surpluses as 'winning', even when they are not driven by superior exports but sluggish imports. The third fallacy is mismeasuring multinational firms' contributions to national exports—interpreting profit shifting and assets stashed in low tax jurisdictions as export performance. Germany and Ireland, as paradigmatic 'success cases of austerity', are used to expand the argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a significant actor in global governance, China has become increasingly active in addressing global environmental challenges. However, Chinese fishing practices do not conform with its policies. How do we understand China's apparently incoherent stance? Using the case of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing governance, we explore why China shifted its approach from reluctance to engagement while still allowing the Chinese fleet's IUU fishing activities to some extent. We find that China safeguards its self-interest by shaping domestic and international rules on anti-IUU fishing while pursuing means of legitimising its actions and intangible aspects of power in the oceans. Our findings have far-reaching implications. First, China's notion of environmental responsibility is likely to remain within the scope of its interests and what China can control. Second, China's global environmental approach can be understood as the pursuit of intangible aspects of great power status in addition to its tangible interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trust among actors plays an important role in contracting decisions and cooperative membership. There is, however, a concern to understand trust development and the determinants of trust perception. In this paper, trust perception is explained by emotions and calculative self-interest along with other predictors, namely transaction costs in the value chain exchange. We assume that emotional non-calculative trust and calculative self-interest are both present in local rural economies, making this context appropriate to test our hypothesis regarding the importance of emotional links in networking and contracting along the value chain. We used a sample of breeders in a local community to construct the emotional non-calculative self-interest and the calculative self-interest components and investigated how these two indicators contribute to generate trust perception. In addition, transaction costs related to opportunism, uncertainty and, dependency have strong effect on trust perception. The results provide support that emotional non-calculative self-interest fosters trust perception; despite opportunistic behavior and distrust, breeders are able to build trusty links using close relationships. Smallholder dairy farmers could use existing social networks to control high transaction costs, to foster trust and institute sustainable contracts as a way to coordinate transactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia is one of the most important US bases in the world, from which the US military can support operations in East Africa, the Persian Gulf, Central Asia, and as far afield as the South China Sea. However, recent events mean that the base on Diego Garcia faces political and legal uncertainty. It is housed inside one of 14 remaining British Overseas Territories, the British Indian Ocean Territory. The vast majority of the international community regards this jurisdiction as an illegal holdover from the colonial era, and recognises Mauritius as the legitimate sovereign authority over Diego Garcia and the rest of the Chagos Islands. In this viewpoint article, I analyse why the United States might consider supporting the decolonisation of the Chagos Archipelago – including the critical island of Diego Garcia – for reasons of strategic self-interest as well as moral integrity. I argue that the Chagos dispute is one of those uncommon instances in world politics where right can make might – where adhering to international rules will redound to the material benefit of all concerned, including, in this case, the would-be decolonisers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how users accept the information from mobile Word-of-mouth (MWOM) information communication. In so doing, we investigate the role of both trust and distrust affecting the degree to which users would accept the recommendation made by MWOM and refer the information to other users. Furthermore, we identify specific evaluative judgments critical in enhancing trust and engendering distrust. We then examine the moderating role of event significance and the aggregate preference by other users reflected by the number of likes. The results indicate that trust has a greater influence than distrust in determining the information acceptance and referral of the recommendation made by MWOM. We also find that source expertise, message relevance, and altruism are more significant in inducing trust, while self-interest seeking is more critical in engendering distrust. The results show that our model is robust against different levels of event significance and the number of likes, although the relative significance of a few paths differs by these two moderating variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors examine consumer attitudes toward ethically labeled products and demonstrate that consumers who think dichotomously tend to favor their own self-interests over the social good by choosing mainstream noncertified products over products displaying ethical labels such as fair trade and Fair Wear. The authors further suggest that advertisers can use a third-person perspective to attenuate the negative effects of dichotomous thinking, increase purchase intentions, and encourage consumption of ethically certificated products. Findings from five studies on various ethically labeled products (such as food and clothing) with a diverse group of study participants (American consumers from a popular tourist spot, an online panel, and college students) provided convergent evidence supporting the hypotheses. Theoretical contributions and implications for marketers, policymakers, and consumers are addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of the peer-review process in contributing to the field of research. The author shares a positive experience with an author who received constructive feedback on their declined paper and expressed gratitude for the opportunity to improve their work. The article also explains the peer-review process used by the journal, which involves a desk review, gatekeeper review, and full peer-review. The goal of the process is to ensure that published papers contribute to the body of knowledge in the field. The article acknowledges that the peer-review process may have imperfections but emphasizes the volunteer efforts of the community in sharing research and providing expertise. [Extracted from the article]

Numerous studies show that those with lower income and the unemployed support more redistribution, which is attributed to material self-interest. However, recent studies assessing within-individual changes result in smaller and less consistent effect estimates. To explain why preferences do not narrowly follow material self-interest, this study argues that the effects of income and unemployment may be asymmetric, implying that improving and deteriorating material circumstances exert differently sized effects. The claims are tested using panel data from Great Britain and a weighted difference-in-difference estimator. The results show that only income increases (negatively) affect redistribution support while income decreases have null effects. In contrast, unemployment is estimated to have a strong and symmetrical effect in line with self-interest theory. These results add further evidence for the validity of self-interest theories but suggest that individuals are only boundedly rational. Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1963139. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doherty understands that "expanding the therapeutic conversation beyond the client's self-interest pushes most therapists past our training and beyond most psychotherapy literature" (p. 13). In I The Ethical Lives of Clients i we are reminded that humans are ethical beings who struggle with issues of right and wrong, and who often bring these struggles to psychotherapy. The first chapter lays the theoretical and empirical groundwork for "ethical consultation" (p. 14) and expands upon Doherty's earlier book I Soul Searching: Why Psychotherapy Must Promote Moral Responsibility i (Doherty, [1]). [Extracted from the article]

Risk choice delegation is pervasive in financial environments. While previous research has explored how agents balance self-interest with interests of passive investors little is known about how this balance is achieved when investors voluntarily decide the amount to invest or when risk is shared between agents and investors. Our findings show agents engage in costly deviation from their preferred risk level when choosing risk exposure levels, revealing a form of prosocial preferences. We further find that this deviation is sensitive to investment levels and institutional features like whether risk is shared and accountability opportunities by investors or a third party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common approach in the philosophy of love defines love as caring about one another and promoting one another's interests, aims and values. The view faces several problems and has been re-formulated to avoid them. However, here I argue that a larger re-formulation of the definition of love is needed in order to accommodate three instances of what I call 'non-harmonious' relationships. I identify three types of non-harmonious love (featuring problematic interests, opposing interests and neutral interests the lovers do not care about) and ultimately claim that our definition of love must incorporate conflict and self-interest, and we should then abandon the excessive focus on the sharing of values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) has positioned itself as a global climate leader. The EU's engagement with external climate governance is most visible in the six post-Soviet states of Eastern Europe. This article asks what drives the EU's engagement with climate governance in the region. To answer this question, I distinguish between three logics of external climate action: self-interest, functional, and civilizing. By analyzing climate cooperation between the EU and the six states, I demonstrate that a combination of all three logics explains the EU's engagement in external climate governance, but that the functional logic is slightly more prominent than the other two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, substantial work has been carried out by researchers in the field of unethical employee behaviour. While self-interest is a more focused area of research, recent studies have investigated pro-organisational unethical behaviour. Furthermore, it is known that unethical behaviour often occurs beyond the realm of conscious awareness. At present, a comprehensive review of unethical employee behaviour that explicates the various types of unethicality is still lacking. In this study, we perform a literature review and integrate the studies under the dimensions of self-interestedness and intentionality. Consequently, four distinct patterns of unethical employee behaviour emerge, which we classify into a typology comprised of four types: (1) unethical pro-self behaviour-explicit, (2) unethical pro-self behaviour-implicit, (3) unethical pro-other behaviour-explicit and (4) unethical pro-other behaviour-implicit. We contend that each of these behaviours consists of different psychological processes, discuss the individual and situational determinants of each typology and tabulate key findings. Overall, we find that the field will significantly benefit from additional impetus being placed on the under-investigated areas of unethical employee behaviours, which, according to our defined typology, includes the implicit and the pro-other types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-motivation and self-interest are the main themes of Li Zhi's discourse, worth attention not only for moral implications but also because they are the basis for the construction of a new self, the premise of a renewed anthropological idea of the individual. The article reexamines some of Li Zhi's ideas that locate the motivation issue in a person able to keep freedom, autonomy and tolerance, and imply his exploration of questions such as human nature, self-cultivation, autonomy and happiness. Li Zhi's construction of the self, based on desire, spontaneity and authenticity, implies the centrality of the same self, the search for happiness, and the consequent basic motivation of human behavior, and the refusal of morality that ignores innate self-interest. Li's individualistic model claims the priority of free private space for each individual, and yet is framed in a holistic cosmic and social vision. Li Zhi redesigns values such as authenticity, autonomy, inner freedom, and heart-mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historicizing self-interest in the modern Atlantic world: a plea for ego? In his essay, "Improvement, projecting, and self-interest in the Hartlib Circle, I c i . 1640-1660", Ted McCormick contends that Hirschman's categories do not quite fit the "projectors" who, in navigating around the figure of Samuel Hartlib, sought social and economic improvements that often promised both a public and private advantage. ,: edited by Christine Zabel, Routledge, Abingdon, 2021, xi + 291 pp., £120 (hardback), £37 (paperback), ISBN 9780367901226. [Extracted from the article]

Progressive tax rates are one of the main instruments for redistribution within advanced liberal democracies. In this study, we investigate public support for this policy. In our analysis of a novel question included in the Belgian Electoral Study (2019) we show that left-wing citizens are strongly in favour of this system. Importantly, high levels of political sophistication strengthen the association between ideology and preferences for progressive taxation, while political sophistication weakens the association between income and rejecting progressive tax policies. Support for a flat tax policy follows exactly the opposite pattern. Hence, for a highly sophisticated group apparently there is no conflict between a tax system that might hurt their short-term material interests, and support for a more equal society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate South Korea's free trade agreement (FTA) initiative with priority given to the government's motives under the institutional structure. Two broad approaches have elaborated political leaders' motives for making a particular trade policy. The social concerns approach assumes that trade policy reflects political leaders' welfare concerns for the general public and its desire to achieve various national and international goals. In contrast, the self-interest approach presumes that political leaders tend to support a particular trade policy depending on whether the policy increases or decreases their real political incentives. By investigating structural changes of the FTA agency in South Korea, this study found that FTA motives work in different ways under different institutional structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Support for transportation policies and investments is increasingly shaped by partisan ideals. Less well documented is the role of partisanship relative to potential mediating factors like transportation-related values, beliefs about the possibility of change, self-interest, and knowledge. We surveyed a representative sample of 600 U.S. adults about these factors, their political ideology, and their willingness to change the automobile-oriented transportation status quo. We found considerable support for change but also deep partisan divides. In exploring the pathways between partisanship and policy preferences, we found that values and beliefs about change are both deeply partisan and closely associated with policy preferences. By contrast, the results were mixed for self-interest and transportation-related knowledge. Ultimately, we found that these four pathways explain much, but not all, of the partisanship in transportation policy preferences. Very conservative respondents opposed reform efforts above and beyond what we would expect from their values, beliefs, self-interest, and knowledge, indicating continuing salience of partisanship. Our results suggest that transportation reforms enjoy broad public support in urban areas with moderate and left-leaning populaces but may struggle to win approval at the regional, state, or federal level due to partisan geographic sorting. Some planners, policymakers, and advocates may choose to embrace partisanship, but doing so may exacerbate tensions and hamper progress. Others may prefer to tackle the pathways between partisanship and preferences without deepening partisan divides. For instance, practitioners may seek to increase support for reform by tackling widespread misunderstandings about induced demand or by installing pilot projects to help the public understand that it is possible to quickly and inexpensively change infrastructure and travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of international peacebuilding as a delivery vehicle for preventing violent extremism (PVE) initiatives is a recent and pivotal development in United Nations (UN) counterterrorism strategy. However, existing research has not considered the contradictions that emerge when international organizations transition to new peacebuilding approaches such as PVE. Further, it remains unclear whether and how intervening organizations overcome these contradictions. Based on forty-seven interviews with UN, government, and nongovernmental organization officials in Kyrgyzstan and New York this article critically analyzes the shift to PVE as an underlying strategic approach to UN peacebuilding and the mismatch between external expectations and local priorities. Interview narratives feature ambiguity in conceptions of foundational PVE concepts and in how interveners reference a menu of drivers for violent extremism according to project requirements. This article argues that ambiguity is strategically tolerated and employed, whereby not clarifying the terms of engagement with (sub-)national counterparts supports external agendas and achieves a basic unity of purpose by permitting counterparts increased managerial latitude to satisfy self-interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An editorial is presented on resilience of the human spirit in times of struggle or catastrophe. Topics include Catastrophes bringing out and highlighting the difference between individual self-interest and social responsibility witnessing the time of the pandemic Covid-19; and population health scholarship illuminating prejudice, discrimination, and segregation.

The history of the mercenary seems little less than the history of organized warfare itself. From the dawn of recorded history to the recent rise of Private Military Companies, mercenaries appear as a historical constant that allows scholars to make grand historical claims about the organisation of force within world history. This article cautions against this view, arguing instead that the analysis of this actor has been compromised by the failure to adequately historicise and contextualize the concept of the mercenary due to the uncritical acceptance that mercenaries are a trans-historical occurrence. Informed by a historicist contextual approach, I show how two foundational characteristics of the mercenary concept, a Westphalian understanding of 'foreignness' and a modern account of 'self-interest', were absent in the periods preceding the 18th century. I demonstrate this absence through an analysis of 'mercenaries' in Ancient Greece and the Middle Ages, exposing how the problematization of these actors within their own historical context displays a radical difference if compared to our contemporary understanding of the mercenary. In doing so this article raises awareness to the historical specificity of this seemingly universal concept and cautions against the uncritical backward projection of this concept into the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though travel literature is not usually consulted to follow the evolution of economic reflection, a certain number of these works about Mexico in the nineteenth century allow a reading from this point of view. Beginning with the famous Alexander von Humboldt, a good number of foreign travelers were intent on elucidating certain economic questions whose relevance sharpened in a social and political scenario as the Mexican one. One concern was the question about the civilizing effect of commerce. Another one was about the so much emphasized principle of self-interest as an unfailing motive for economic dynamism. Finally, some travelers asked themselves to which degree the construction of an administrative apparatus was the decisive factor to put Mexico on the path of economic progress. The survey includes the works of several significant European travelers and covers until the year of 1910. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What role do emotions play in recruitment strategies employed by armed groups? I argue that armed groups use "emotion work" – the effort to evoke or shape emotions – to recruit new fighters, trying to appeal not only to peoplès self-interest or reason but to their values and normative judgements. I use data from 30 interviews with former members of the LTTE to show that emotions were a central element of their recruitment strategy. To analyze the role of emotions in recruitment, I build on social movement theory and the sociology of emotions and propose an analytical framework linking different types of collective action frames with different emotions they provoke and the mechanisms through which they facilitate recruitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The case study presented in this article analyses the social construction of India's Right to Food Act of 2013 in light of the extant literature on the social construction of human rights. It argues that Lockwood's novel hypothesis – that human rights are created by elite actors using the enhanced 'moral and material resources' that they have at their disposal, not in their own self-interests, but in the interests of the less advantaged – is borne up by the present case study, (although less advantaged social actors were involved in the campaign for the Act). The article also seeks to extend Lockwood's theory by examining which moral and material resources contributed the most to the creation of the Act and why. Finally, drawing on Waters, the article proposes that political elites' need to consolidate political support was an important factor in securing the Act. In conclusion, this paper argues that further research on the perceived needs of the less advantaged in respect of the Right to Food Act's content must be undertaken if we are to be sure it genuinely reflects their interests. The article is based on in depth socio-historical research including a review of hundreds of documents and 37 interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformational leaders are leaders who 'transform and inspire followers to perform beyond expectations while transcending self-interest for the good of the organisation'. 'Discernment' is defined as the individual and communal practice of decision-making that is oriented on the future (educational aims), conditioned by the personal qualities of leaders (purity of heart), and which emphasises teleological ethics as source of reliance. In line with this concept, a scale of discernment was constructed and tested in a research study on 198 leaders of the Catholic schools of Don Bosco in India. Transformational leadership was measured with an existing scale which is part of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The results show that discernment (as measured) is the strongest predictor of transformational leadership, while controlling for background variables (such as age, gender, religious background, leadership position, type of school, and private or government-aided schools). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laughter is relatively unexplored in Adam Smith's economic philosophy. In this article, laughter in Smith's two major works The theory of moral sentiments and An inquiry into the nature and causes of the wealth of nations will be surveyed to assess the role it possibly played in his work, and whether there is a link between laughter and economics. It will be argued that although it is not a major theme in Smith's work, there is a link between laughter and economics. Laughter is understood from the perspective of the instincts of self-interest and sympathy with the corresponding socio-ethical assessment in which the impartial spectator plays a central role. Hence, Smith understood laughter as a social deliberated phenomenon, and not an individual response to an event. This social dimension is where the assessment of laughter takes place to gauge propriety. It will be highlighted that the assessment in many of the references that Smith makes to laughter are mostly embedded in a disjunction or binary connective that consists of self-interest and sympathy. This disjunction is cross-categorical and often of the weak type which results in a tension between self-interest and sympathy. It will be argued that disjunction resists reduction of self-interest that is seen in the excess and narcissism of contemporary capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the determinants of U.S. foreign aid to Israel is commonly motivated by two contesting theoretical paradigms. Pioneered by Organski, the self-interest paradigm conceptualises aid as a mutually beneficial deal that helps the U.S. to advance its interest in the Middle East. The influence paradigm, best showcased by Mearsheimer and Waltz, views U.S. aid to Israel as a corollary of the overwhelming influence of pro-Israel interest groups on U.S. foreign policy decision-making. This article attempts to shed new light on the debate by using systematic data analysis. The results show consistent evidence in support of the self-interest paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many online price negotiations, instant messaging (IM) and audio channels rival each other in use, but IM’s use is on the rise. In these contexts, people who are strangers to each other are inclined to act more competitively. They are driven by self-interest and strive for greater gains from agreement in the form of what is termed “ending concessions.” To date, however, researchers have focused on striving for agreement as the main goal of negotiators. This study uses a selfishness theory to explain how individuals using IM, as compared to those using audio, can encourage their negotiation partners to make ending concessions, and thereby increase individuals’ gains when agreement is reached. We use data from a negotiation laboratory experiment to test a model of ending concessions that is predicted by unrestricted offers and comments that negotiators make over IM and audio. We base our analyses on the contents of the resulting communications. The objects of negotiation are simulated lottery tickets. Our results provide three key insights. First, when using IM, partners appear to interpret offers that include concessions from individuals as attempts to manipulate partners into accepting non-equitable agreements; as a result partners decrease their ending concessions. These interpretations do not appear to occur when using audio, and as a result individuals’ concessions do not decrease partners’ ending concessions. Second, using IM, when individuals disagree with anger directed at partners’ bidding behaviors, partners respond by increasing their ending concessions. Ending concessions are further increased when using audio. Third, and in contrast, using IM, when individuals disagree with emotion that does not include anger, partners respond by decreasing their ending concessions. Ending concessions are further decreased when using audio. These insights provide guidance for practice, and are bases for future research on the use of IM and audio for negotiation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The emergence of the novel coronavirus has led to panic, vulnerability and racism all over the world. This paper traces the roots and routes of the different faces and facets of such responses and explores their impact on individual and collective behaviour. It focuses on the un/ethics of self-care and collective care and the impacts these responses have had on Moroccan society. It argues that the pandemic pushed individuals to behave 'globally' against local and cultural norms, demonstrating new societal behaviour that is based on avarice, self-interest and self-care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thomas Carlyle is commonly remembered as the arch-nemesis of economics. However, Carlyle's ideas in fact had a considerable influence among economists in Australia and New Zealand. Indeed, an array of Australasian economists cited Carlyle in criticising self-interest, laissez-faire, and materialism, in suggesting that economic science ought to accord greater importance to ethical factors, and in urging the "Captains of Industry" and the State to exercise paternal guidance over the working classes. In short, Carlyle's writings shaped Australasian economists' understanding, portrayal, and critique of the previous generation of so-called "old" economists, as well as their self-understanding as self-professed "new" economists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]