Picture this: An isolated island inhabited by exactly one hundred people. Ninety-nine of them are what we might call considerate. They put the needs of others above their own.
But then, there is the hundredth person. This individual is more ruthless, calculated, and driven by self-interest. While the ninety-nine are gathering food and helping others before tending to themselves, this one person is more focused on building personal wealth and power.
In the short term, the ruthless thrive on the sacrifices of the selfless. They take while others give. They rise while others support. This leads to a question about the mechanics of success in our own world.
In a competitive society, is being considerate a burden that eventually leads to a life as a loser, or is the ruthless individual actually the one with a flaw in their social toolkit? To put it bluntly, do you have to be a shark to win, or is there a way to be considerate without being a doormat?