Principles, my friend. Principles. An ad-hoc, self-serving moral "code" is a contradiction in terms. Any moral system must be applied consistently every time in similar contexts. For example, if my code is to only deal with businesses that treat me fairly, openly praise the ones that go beyond that basic standard, and openly denounce the ones that fail to live up to it, then I must accept that others should be allowed to do the same WRT doing business with me.
Whatever rules I make up for myself that I think will give me an advantage in life, I must also allow other people to treat me in the same ways in their dealings with me.
That is only fair, and I contend that if you follow any self-interested principle consistently like that, you'll never end up acting in a manner that we would consider predatory or unfair.
Rational righteousness. Interesting premise. Has it worked anywhere?
"Whatever rules I make up for myself that I think will give me an advantage in life, I must also allow other people to treat me in the same ways in their dealings with me.
That is only fair,"
And what if you don't follow your rules or what if someone does not want to follow your rules because they conflict with his rules that give him an advantage? How do you determine what's fair? certainly everone does not start out at the same place or level.