self-interest

noun

1. regard for one’s own interest or advantage, especially with disregard for others.
2. personal interest or advantage.

noun

1. one’s personal interest or advantage
2. the act or an instance of pursuing one’s own interest

n.also self interest, 1640s, from self- + interest (n.). Related: Self-interested. [Self-interest] is a doctrine not very lofty, but clear and sure. It does not seek to attain great objects; but it attains those it aims for without too much effort. … [It] does not produce great devotion; but it suggests little sacrifices each day; by itself it cannot make a man virtuous; but it forms a multitude of citizens who are regulated, temperate, moderate, farsighted, masters of themselves; and if it does not lead directly to virtue through the will, it brings them near to it insensibly through habits. [Alexis de Tocqueville, “Democracy in America”]