| | Many people are of the impression that Ayn Rand, or her espoused philosophy: Objectivism, was/is harsh -- or at least indifferent -- toward the welfare of others. Rand morally delineated those who are irrationally selfish ("Nietzschean egoists"), from those who are rationally selfish, in the following quote ("Introduction," VOS, pb xi.):
This is said as a warning against the kind of "Nietzschean egoists" who, in fact, are a product of the altruist morality and represent the other side of the altruist coin: the men who believe that any action, regardless of its nature, is good if it is intended for one's own benefit. Just as the satisfaction of the irrational desires of others is not a criterion of moral value, neither is the satisfaction of one's own irrational desires. Morality is not a contest of whims. Yet, many of those people of this impression (that Rand was selfish to a fault) will read this passage and still, somehow, continue believing that Rand promoted at least a mitigated, cut-throat (dog-eat-dog) behavior. Perhaps they require a more personal gesture from Rand -- one showing, rather than explaining, her benevolent attitude toward others. Such a demonstration is available on page 161 of The Romantic Manifesto, when Rand was telling "the American public" about the works of Victor Hugo. Note Rand's unapologetic adoption of the pay-it-forward principle ...
He helped to make it possible for me to be here and to be a writer. If I can help another young reader to find what I found in his work, if I can bring to the novels of Victor Hugo some part of the kind of audience he deserves, I shall regard it as a payment on an incalculable debt that can never be computed or repaid. So much for the previous misidentification of Nietzschean egoism with either Rand or Objectivism!
Ed
(Edited by Ed Thompson on 7/14, 5:40pm)
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