The human race has debated over the differences between altruism and egoism for centuries, some debates have even lead to the creation of religions, cultural norms and taboos all over the world. The common good can be summarized into a short definition stating that it is the focus on how to benefit all individuals. While as simple as that definition may be, acting on behalf of the common good is not the easiest task. In the endeavor to live a life beneficial to the common good, an individual is forced to walk a tight line between an altruistic nature and an egotistic nature. As defined by Merriam-Webster, altruism is the "feeling and behavior that shows a desire to help other people as well as a lack of selfishness "1 while egoism is defined as "a doctrine that individual self-interest is the actual motive of all conscious action "2. While each of these lifestyle's can have negative results if followed religiously, the combination of both altruistic and egotistic acts throughout one's life can help for one to live a life for the common good, through the combination of benefitting others as well as oneself. .
An aspect of human nature that separates humans from other organisms present in the world is the altruistic nature that many people exhibit. Altruism in its most basic form completely rejects Charles Darwin's biological theory of the Survival of the Fittest3, for an altruistic organism is less fit if it focuses some or all of its effort on another organism outside of its kin. While in the definition it is difficult to see the drawbacks to living a completely altruistic life, in reality, living fully altruistically does not benefit the common good. It does not benefit the common good for every individual. Everyone, including the one living an altruistic life, are a part of the common good and living completely altruistically implies a complete lack of selfishness and a complete lack of selfishness can be detrimental to the individual in many serious ways.
