The Virtue of Selfishness

Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism is just as controversial and misunderstood today as in her own time. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Objectivism is the virtue of selfishness. Most of us are taught from a very early age to put the needs of others ahead of our own. We are also taught that greed is bad i.e. “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Though these ideas are well-intentioned and sound ‘moral,’ are they?

In my debate with Gary on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, he brought up the following point:

“Ayn Rand’s Objectivism shows that if you apply only reason you come up with a self-centered set of values that doesn’t even require parent to care for their own children.”

There Are No Selfless Acts
To answer Gary’s criticism, I have to ask the question: is there any such thing as an unselfish act? Most parents value and love their children; therefore the children are an extension to his or her self-interest. As a parent, I want the best things in life for my children and as a husband; I want the best for my wife. These values of mine are by no stretch of the imagination selfless (putting their needs ahead of mine) but rather selfish because they are what I value in life and I will do everything necessary to take care of them. Because I value their love and affection, I must take care of them emotionally, financially, and physiologically. Love itself is a selfish emotion particularly when you choose a mate and take him or her to be your spouse. When you marry someone you agree to be faithful only to that person in exchange for his or her faithfulness to you. Consider this: you cannot say “I love you” without first saying “I”.

All human motivations are based in selfishness. When you volunteer for a cause, donate money to charity, or “pay it forward” (Great movie; when you give someone a helping hand), though many regard such an action as ‘selfless’ it really isn’t because helping people makes you feel good about yourself. A truly selfless act means you receive no sense of satisfaction or benefit from doing the act and would require doing something against your will (such as at gunpoint).

Capitalism: An Economic System Based on Selfishness
If we truly lived by the philosophy: “The love of money is the root of all evil,” we would have to conclude that capitalism is evil and favor either socialism or communism. Karl Marx summarized his theory of communism writing: "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." Communism and socialism surmises that pursuit of money is evil; the goal of both economic theories is to eliminate social classes, evenly dividing the wealth. On its face, socialism and communism appear to be selfless economic theories. Upon further inspection; however, those who subscribe to these theories tend to be envious of those who have what they do not. Envy is itself a form of selfishness; “If I can’t have it, no one can.”

Capitalism on the other hand is the polar opposite theory. Capitalism works because it is an economic theory based on human nature, especially selfishness. As individuals look out for their selfish interest to make money and acquire capital, the ones who can cater to the selfish needs of their customers the best are the most successful. Customers look out for their selfish needs and desires by seeking out the companies that have the best products or services, prices, or customer service. It is this kind of selfishness that inspires entrepreneurs to invent products, perfect services, and drive our economy. If everyone tried to deny their self-interests, very little if any of this could be achieved.

The fall of the Soviet Union is a great example of how flawed communism and socialism is. During the Cold War, the U.S.S.R. fought very hard to keep up with the U.S. technologically, politically, and militarily. At the end of this struggle, the United States’ capitalistic system eventually prevailed. Ronald Reagan recognized that communism was fatally flawed and engaged in some high-stakes poker with Mikhail Gorbachev. Reagan made his intentions to the world clear that the U.S. was going to build SDI, A.K.A. the “Star Wars Defense System.” The cost of the Cold War was very expensive for both world super powers but in the end, the U.S.S.R’s economic system could not keep up with the West. SDI was the straw that broke the camel’s back. In reality, the technology was probably not available in the 1980’s to build such an ambitious technological feat (we probably do not have the ability even today), but the Russians did not know that. Maybe Reagan was bluffing; maybe he was serious, either way the strategy worked. The Russians witnessed Niel Armstrong walking on the moon, something many scientists thought impossible at the time. How could Communist Russia motivate its citizens to compete against the U.S.? National pride perhaps? The Soviet Union crumbled on by its own weight; it expanded too far to sustain itself.

Though the Soviet Union was defeated many years ago, communism and socialism is far from dead. We find it creeping into our own government and culture. We don’t call it socialism or communism here; we call it Social Security, Medicare, and Minimum Wage. We the people call for affirmative action, and equal results rather than equal opportunity. We hate how ‘greedy’ Bill Gates is; after all, doesn’t he have enough money? Why can’t he share his wealth? The rich don’t pay enough taxes, yada, yada, yada. Rather than teaching our children how wrong it is to be selfish, why not teach them that its not selfishness that is wrong, but rather how it is directed? Selfishness is a virtue that promotes a better world, not worse.