Private Vice is, erm, Public Vice?

"..the more expensive the harbor is the less likely it is it will ever be built."
"What are you suggesting, that we exaggerate the cost?"
"My dear Narcissus, you have money in corn, I have money in corn, lots of people have money in corn. The more corn that can be landed in winter the lower the price will be. That worries me."
"That could be construed as a very selfish point of view."
"Are you saying there is less selfishness in wanting the price of corn to be low rather than high?"
"But there are more people who want it to be low!"
"Doesn't that add up to more selfishness rather than less?"
"That is sheer sophistry, I cannot argue with you."
"Well let's get the engineer's report, and I'm quite sure the costs will take care of philosophical considerations."
-Two Patricians, I, Claudius