Man is by nature selfish and self-interested.
He is not made (in nature) to follow the pack. He does so at his peril. Man must function as an individual, no matter how much he gains from the accomplishments of others. (Man need not be an island, but must be an individual). Man can interact with other individuals—a writer can have millions of readers, for example—but man is still an individual, and he can only be valuable to others if he is first valuable to himself.