Self-Interest?

I've been saving this link for our discussion on Adam Smith. It's an opinion piece from The Wall Street Journal. The author, Matt Ridley, often writes on things philosophical and economic. Here he's asking whether we benefit more from trading with others or from teamwork?

It's an interesting question. Both of them involve cooperation. One can make the case that teamwork involves a clearer application of the comparative advantage principle. But one can also demonstrate that the "us vs. them" view is bound to involve costs that wouldn't have to be incurred.

Read it over and try to relate it to our discussion about Smith, the invisible hand, and the impartial spectator. You can even discuss economic economic systems (Mandeville, etc.). The article has lots of possibilities and I'm keen to see which ones you see and how you see them connecting.