My supporting POV on selfishness motivating human moral values

[smax]

When you say most people "don't think like that", surely you know that is a very naive generalization, right? Do you really believe that people, in general, operate without an agenda of some kind or at least on some small level?

I think that we all do, on a subconscious level.  But we also don't like to feel as if we are doing things that are socially unacceptable, so we will consciously resist the idea that we are selfish.

But I agree with the point that you can expand selfishness until every action is selfish.  If helping another person makes you feel good, are you acting out of selfishness?  If being generous makes the community stronger and therefore benefits you, are you acting out of selfishness?  If everything we do is motivated by selfishness on some level, then selfishness is simply a common state and not worth defining.  I think we make those exceptions in order to differentiate between 'selfishness' that benefits the group, and selfishness that harms the group.

Example- I give generously of my time and money to help the poor, and it makes me feel good (selfish) and look good to the community (selfish) and the benefit to the community applies to me as well (selfish).  On the other hand, let's say that instead of doing that, I occasionally beat up people and take their money.  It makes me feel powerful (selfish) and benefits me financially (selfish).  Those are not equivalent, even if we define both as selfish.  In particular, the community and the individuals within are much more grateful for the former display of 'selfishness' than the latter.

...except for the well-paid police force that the latter version of me makes necessary, anyway.

I agree with everything in your post, except the notion that selfishness loses meaning because of it's universal applications. You have to remember that we aren't talking about good or evil, or what does or does not benefit the overall collective. We are talking about the source of what motivates people. 

You give generously while another guy takes aggressively. Both actions are motivated by selfish interest, it's just a different point of view, different set of circumstances, and very likely a different child hood and place of environmental development that are at work in the different applications of selfishness. 

I believe the theory that selfishness is at the root of moral values, and I think it's the most clear answer to the question: where do moral values come from?

That said, I think people have a difficult time talking about the source of things and would rather talk about surface level issues. For the record, and somewhat on the surface, I prefer your approach to satisfying your selfish interests over that of an aggressive taker. Your way of satisfying self interest also serves my self interests. Selfishness, given enough deep consideration by the individual, will ultimately prove to serve others as well because the individual needs others for friendship, conversation, love, work, service, and whole host of other things.