"People are naturally selfish". What exactly does this statement mean?

All world views have a thought about who man is. There are basically two schools. 1) people-kind are good; 2) people-kind are not good.

Christianity comes from the people aren't good school (I.e. original sin); thus, the need to be 'saved.' This comment comes from this same school of thought. People are "naturally" (I.e present at birth) selfish. People will work for their own end, one that brings the self pleasure, rather than work towards an end that will benefit others (if it will cost the self some satisfaction or pleasure.)

When applied to life, at the relational level, people will only enter into relationships with others that benefit themselves (financial, laughter, sex, etc.). At the state level, people will choose policies that will protect or benefit self interests. This can go on to be applied to every part of life. The sceptic will even say that people help others only because it makes the person helping feel good about him/herself, so even helping people is selfishly motivated.

This is a saying by someone being particularly selfish and rationalizing it by saying it is human nature. The truth is we are social crestures of habit. However, if we do not learn to take care of number one, then we may have difficulyy allowing others to get to know us, because if one hasn't had the life experiences that may have brought out the best, worst,, and most harmoniousness of us and our feelings then it is hard to give as allowances tolerances that may be in kindness to permit others to be the way they must as you reveal your sensitivities, insistances, or personal room requirements. Such an act of establishing relation has an active spiritual component that we soon could fathom that selfishness is like wearing a leash. Quality of human life depenfs upon our freedom, our risk comfort, and sometimes we must venture to stake life on belief in human faith in human spirit, although to expect something of it that it is not is a price of learning to

I read somewhere once, I think it was a Zen book.

"Men (mankind) main task in life is to give birth to himself."

It means mankind is naturally selfish. Once man discovers and understands "the self" it is easier to obey than it is to conquer and eliminate it. Monks and nuns are the only ones who are somewhat good at this.