Editing Consequentialism (section)

===Ethical egoism===
{{Main|Ethical egoism}}

Ethical egoism can be understood as a consequentialist theory according to which the consequences for the individual agent are taken to matter more than any other result. Thus, [[egoism]] will prescribe actions that may be beneficial, detrimental, or neutral to the welfare of others. Some, like [[Henry Sidgwick]], argue that a certain degree of egoism ''promotes'' the general welfare of society for two reasons: because individuals know how to please themselves best, and because if everyone were an austere altruist then general welfare would inevitably decrease.<ref name="Sidgwick">{{Cite book|title=The Method of Ethics |year=1907 |last=Sidgwick |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Sidgwick |publisher=Dover (1981) |location=NY |isbn=978-0-915145-28-7 |url=http://www.la.utexas.edu/methsidg/me/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071209092717/http://www.la.utexas.edu/methsidg/me/ |archive-date=December 9, 2007 }}</ref>