Dastlabki liberal kapitalist mutafakkirlari o'zini manfaatdor tutish tarzida harakat qilishni oqilona harakat qilish deb hisoblashgan hamda agar har bir kishi oqilona harakat qilsa, jamiyat butun bo'lib gullab-yashnashi uchun shu narsaning o'zi kifoya qiladi, degan e'tiqodni saqlab kelganlar.

Early liberal capitalist thinkers maintained the belief that acting in a self-interested fashion is to act rationally, and if everyone were to act rationally, then that is all that is needed for society as a whole to flourish.