When individuals contrast their own faultless motives to the selfishness of others, our natural impulse is to interpret it as self-serving bias. But the empirical evidence suggests that self-descriptions are accurate. People err not in overestimating their own altruism, but in underestimating the altruism of others. Indeed, “underestimate” is an understatement. Individuals are not just less politically selfish than usually thought. As voters, they scarcely appear selfish at all.
