"Economics starts with one very important assumption: Individuals act to make themselves as well off as possible. To use the jargon of the profession, individuals seek to maximise their own utility, which is is a similar concept to happiness, only broader" (P.6)

This I find this observation very insightful as well as somewhat disturbing. Although logically it makes all the sense in the world, it doesn't make the idea that all people live with the primary goal of self-satisifying any less sobering. I'd be lying if I said that this idea was completely novel to me, but I had never previously considered the economic significance of this aspect of the human condition. I didn't know that every situation has to be considered with the self-seeking characteristics of human in mind. In reality I know that the fact that everybody has their own best interests at heart and "that each of us has his or her own preferences" does not make them selfish, it's just another one of the factors that make us who we are.