The Stumbling Block is Selfishness

“It is generally agreed that the simple teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, if taken seriously and applied in practice, would be sufficient to establish Brotherhood, and man's failure to do this has not been due to a lack of ethical teachings on the subject.

The altruist and the humanitarian do take these teachings seriously and seek to benefit their fellow men without selfish motives. Many sincere attempts have been made by religious and other groups to practice Brotherhood, and if it were not for such efforts by people of good will this world would be in a far worse condition than it is. But those who try to practice Brotherhood meet with difficulties. They have to deal with others, who by their selfishness hamper the efforts for Brotherhood, and make these ineffective.

It is the selfish man who causes the strife and disharmony in the world. He too has had the ethical teachings of religion presented to him, but has ignored them for ages past and is doing the same today. Unless he can be induced to change his selfish attitude, Brotherhood will not become a reality. Evidently ethical teachings, wonderful as they are, are not sufficient to accomplish this when standing alone and are ineffective where they are most needed.

The selfish man feels that selfishness offers immediate and concrete advantages, while the benefits resulting from altruism are uncertain and may never materialize. He sees others practice selfishness with apparently favorable results and hence concludes that selfishness "pays" better than altruism and that is his reason for acting selfishly.

Selfishness and crime can not be eliminated as long as man believes that they are profitable. Unless it can be shown that they are unprofitable and injurious to man's welfare, selfishness, corruption and crime will continue, become more aggravated and eventually wreck our civilization as they have done with so many others in the past."

-“Life’s Riddle” by Nils A. Amneus, Ch. 9 ‘Brotherhood’