So most of my friends would know that i am a fairly solid subscriber to the philosophical ideals of objectivism as proposed by Nietzsche and Rand. To this end ive blogged several times about The Virtue of Selfishness, a book on Objectivist ethics.

Today by coincisdence i came across an essay titled "The Vice of Selfishness", which provides a reasonable concise and in my opinion, a very "opinion heavy" response to Rands thinking. It was intersing to explore the counter argument. Ill post a few excepts here.

Animals have it easy. The family dog never wrestles with his conscience over the need to leave some Alpo in his bowl for the poor and hungry strays. Bulls don't apportion the cows to ensure the joys of family life for all concerned. And, once an amoeba splits, the two halves feel no need to keep in touch.

People, however, do not have such an easy time of it. The enlightened, modern person usually measures the progress of civilization by discerning how well its members look after their comrades. While some limited altruism has been documented in nature, conscious altruism can fairly be described as an invention of human beings. Whether it is the Christian axiom to "love thy neighbor as thyself" or the socialist dictum requiring "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need," altruism is widely considered the progressive, humane stance.

Read the full essay, The Vice of Selfishness

Labels: economy, ideas, liberty, Philosophy

Posted by Nick HaC @ 8:40 AM