Opportunism

Opportunism is the practice of taking advantage of circumstances — with little regard for principles or with what the consequences are for others.

Opportunism or "opportunistic behaviour" is an important concept in such fields of study as biology, transaction cost economics, game theory, ethics, psychology, sociology and politics.

The English term "opportunism" is possibly borrowed originally from the Italian expression opportunismo.

In 19th-century Italian politics, it meant "exploiting the prevailing circumstances or opportunities to gain an immediate advantage for oneself or one's own group".

Hence opportunist behavior is usually regarded at least as questionable or dubious, and at most as unjustifiable or completely illegitimate.