Selfishness perhaps is in order (6)
I believe the answer is:
egoism
'selfishness' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'perhaps is in order' is the wordplay.
'perhaps' becomes 'eg' (for example).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'order' becomes 'om' (Order of Merit).
'is' placed into 'om' is 'oism'.
'eg'+'oism'='EGOISM'
(Other definitions for egoism that I've seen before include "display of selfishness" , "sense of superiority" , "Exaggerated sense of one's own importance" , "Excessive self-regard" , "Self-seeking" .)