Human civilization is composed of countless individuals, countless interest groups and social strata, each of them following the basic instinct: to strive to maximize one's own well-being by obtaining as many benefits as they can and avoiding as many costs as possible. Unfortunately for humanity, to improve one's life, competition with others is inevitable. Competitions, by definition, mean that the winners get something at the expense of others. The good news is that competition between people is not a constant sum game, meaning that in theory, if we can reallocate resources, rights and duties in a certain way, humanity can make the most of it. In the most ideal case, the self-interest of each individual and the collective well-being should not balance each other. This essay will discuss the thoughts of three of the great thinkers on this issue.Focus of AnalysisConsulting the works of Huang Zongxi, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith, the essay will analyze this problem from two perspectives, namely (1) the problem politics of multiple identities, and (2) the economic problem of the allocation of goods. In the first part of the essay we want to investigate a dilemma faced by heads of state: they have both the duty to the state as a ruler and the desire to live better as a being human. We would like to have a method of ensuring the integrity of leaders to reduce the likelihood that their personal interests will jeopardize collective well-being and to reasonably reward leaders for their efforts. In the second part of the essay, we will discuss the broader economic problem of how to allocate rights, duties, resources and wealth in order to maximize overall society...... middle of paper ...... given that fraud and deception are prohibited, free exchanges between individuals, which arise from private interests, effectively facilitate the reallocation of goods and resources in an economy. After all, the outcome of a free market promotes social welfare. Works Cited Friedman, Milton. “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits,” The New York Times Magazine. September 13, 1970. Available at http://www.umich.edu/~thecore/doc/Friedman.pdfRousseau, Jean-Jacque. The Social Contract. Tr. GDH Cole. Accessed July 15, 2011. Available at http://www.constitution.org/jjr/socon.htmSmith, Adam. The wealth of the nation. Accessed July 15, 2011. Available at http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/smith-adam/works/wealth-of-nations/index.htm黃宗羲，《明夷待訪錄》。取於2010 July 7, 2015. http://lib.jmu.edu.cn/departments2/magazine/philosophyol/index-37.html