I’d put it slightly differently—if you want to be an effective consequentialist then you don’t want to act like a sociopath. Whether your ultimate motives are completely selfish or completely altruistic, you can benefit from reciprocal altruism and the support of friends and community. As an extreme example, if you let yourself become completely isolated from your community you may suffer mental health issues that would compromise your ability to act rationally.
So unless you’re really in a hurry, walking past the kid on the pavement probably isn’t worth the status hit.
I’d put it slightly differently—if you want to be an effective consequentialist then you don’t want to act like a sociopath. Whether your ultimate motives are completely selfish or completely altruistic, you can benefit from reciprocal altruism and the support of friends and community. As an extreme example, if you let yourself become completely isolated from your community you may suffer mental health issues that would compromise your ability to act rationally.
So unless you’re really in a hurry, walking past the kid on the pavement probably isn’t worth the status hit.