Were people always so self serving?

Ah the good old days when people were so very nice to each other. Except when they weren't. If you think about the abuses exercised in the past, I think you might find that people are no more self-serving now then they were, when they can get away with it. That's what's really changed. Now, people can get away with it a lot more. If you look back a hundred years, people needed to be part of a community to survive, especially in rural areas. Now, they can be more self-sufficient (relatively speaking). We are more isolated and transient than we used to be. Thus the mores that once governed small areas are constantly shifting as new people come in and old people go out. When people don't know what the rules are anymore, they tend to fall back on instinct. One of the greatest instincts is self-preservation which can easily be self-serving. Another major change is that communication has grown by leaps and bounds. It's strange that in a world where we've become more isolated from one another, we've also lost a large quantity of our privacy. People are blogging, posting videos on YouTube, everywhere you look, you're given a peeping Tom's eye view into other people's lives. By nature, humans are judgmental. When you allow them unprecedented access into other people's lives, they become more so with some very cruel results. So, in answer to your question, no, we're not more self-serving than before. More of us are freer to act on the self-serving aspects of ourselves than we did in the past.

I think there are different type of people. I believe if an active people are try to do something they will be self serving their self. Personally In my life I always like to self serving. in different type of research I am also self depended

Its basically human nature. We all have natural tendency to think about ourselves first, this is maybe all part of being alive, the will to survive and protect ourselves and then others.

I find the younger generation self centered and self serving. I think that it is very disappointing. I for one would not step on anyones toes to get ahead instead I would let them go first. I think that most parents are failing to teach their children what life is truly about. Children nowadays are given toooooo much and have way to much time to do as they please. No religion. All this to me equals self centered and self serving. We have always had those people to deal with but now it is worse. Just my opinion.

That is the way society is becoming. It is terrible because sometimes it is dangerous to not be like this. Now days if you see someone broke down on side of the road, it can be dangerous to ask if they need help. I wish humans were more decent, but in reality it is hard to find decent people these days.