Self-interest may be a basic human condition and a constant in politics, but how we conceptualize self-interest has, at key moments in history, changed fundamentally—The Enlightenment was one such moment; the science of our current age is giving us another—We compare and contrast these old and new stories of systems, causation, and agency—The fundamental shift of this second Enlightenment is from atomized individualism to networked interdependence, and this forces a new concept of self-interest.

Fundamental shifts in popular understanding of how the world works necessarily produce fundamental shifts in our conception of self-interest, which in turn necessarily produce fundamental shifts in how we think to order our societies. New understanding turns simple observation into meaningful perception.

Liu, Eric; Hanauer, Nick (2011-12-06). The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government (Kindle Locations 217-220). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.