"Indivudualism: True and False" in Individualism and Economic Order by F.A. Hayek

Self-interest is a nasty concept for some people. But as usual, it really depends how you view and define it. The quote below was taken from Hayek's essay "Indivudualism: True and False."

There can be no doubt, of course that in the language of the great writers of the eighteenth century it was man's "self-love," or even his "selfish interests," which they represented as the "universal mover," and that by these terms they were referring primarily to a moral attitude, which they thought to be widely prevalent. These terms, however, did not mean egotism in the narrow sense of concern with only the immediate needs of one's proper person. The "self," for which alone people were supposed to care, did as a matter of course include their family and friends. . .