Philosophers who think that humans are motivated only by self-interest couldn't support the golden rule.
Philosophers who think that humans are motivated only by self-interest couldn't support the golden rule.
Hobbes was a great supporter of the golden rule -- even though he thought that humans were motivated only by self-interest.
Philosophers who think that humans are motivated only by self-interest couldn't support the golden rule.
Hobbes and others see GR as a social convention that we agree to out of self-interest. To enforce the convention, violators are made to suffer external sanctions (disapproval, alienation, legal penalties) and internal sanctions (guilt, anxiety, loss of self-respect); and those who follow GR are praised and made to feel good about themselves. These ensure that you won't be happy unless you follow GR.
To sum up: it's in everyone's self-interest to bring about an atmosphere in which it's in no one's self-interest to violate the golden rule -- and such an atmosphere by and large exists.