A philosophical war is being waged for America’s future, with the core values and foundational principles that will guide this country at stake. This war is not merely between differences of opinion, but, as Ayn Rand would have said, “it is the difference between life and death.” This cultural conflict is between the philosophies of altruism and egoism.
In order to gain an understanding of each philosophy’s fundamental nature and what they truly mean and entail, it is pivotal that we explore these concepts in the context of value.
Altruism
Altruism is commonly defined as “the philosophical doctrine that right action is that which produces the greatest benefit to others,”1 and thus not the self. Most people confuse altruism to mean merely helping others, however, this is not the case. Explained more precisely, “The basic principle of altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value.”2 Graphically represented, altruism looks like this:
In this graphical representation, Person 1 is the altruist, with Person 2 being the beneficiary of a value. The fundamental root of altruism demands that the self must give up a value for either a lesser value or for no value in return. This is what it means to be selfless. Person 1 sacrifices a value while Person 2 gains a value. In essence, Person 2 gains value at the expense of Person 1. Altruism by it's nature results in a lose-win scenario, also referred to as a zero-sum game. Numerically, you can think of altruism as (-1 + 1) = 0. As this representation shows, value is destroyed/sacrificed to the benefit of another. What is interesting is that currently in the USA, altruism is not only the dominant of the two philosophies being pushed by academia, but it is considered to be the moral philosophy compared to egoism. Make no mistake about it, there can be no morality in the destruction of value.
When it comes to politics, the politico-economic system that holds altruism as it's fundamental philosophy is communism. Under communism, value is destroyed/sacrificed, usually under the guise of the “public good,” and to the dictators benefit. As Ayn Rand once noted, “Every dictatorship is based on altruism,” be it sacrifice to the state, as with Hitler’s Nazi Germany, or sacrifice to the collective public, as with Stalin’s Soviet Russia.
Examples of notable figures who preach/preached altruism include Immanuel Kant, Joseph Stalin, Barack Obama (Spread the Wealth!), & John McCain (Country First!)
Egoism
Egoism is commonly defined as "the theory that the pursuit of one's own welfare is the highest good."3 The more concrete Objectivist view of egoism is that "human good does not require human sacrifices and cannot be achieved by the sacrifice of anyone to anyone. It holds that the rational interests of men do not clash—that there is no conflict of interests among men who do not desire the unearned, who do not make sacrifices nor accept them, who deal with one another as traders, giving value for value."4 Egoism is best represented graphically as:
In this graphical representation, Person 1 is the egoist, expecting value in return for the value he is trading away. In effect, both Person 1 and Person 2 are the beneficiaries of value. The fundamental root of egoism demands that the egoist deal with others in a way that results in his/her own long-term survival/prosperity/happiness. This is only possible socially so long as both parties benefit through a mutually beneficial relationship. Egoism results in a win-win scenario, also known as a positive-sum game. Numerically, this can be demonstrated as (1 + 1) = 2. Value is created through egoism, not destroyed as with altruism. It is the profit-seeking egoist, pursuing his own self-interest, who creates enterprise, which in turn creates value to be traded and exchanged. For example, let's say that Person 1 is a business, say Starbucks, and Person 2 is a customer. Starbucks is in business selfishly to make money. Starbucks wants money more than it wants it's products. In essence, it values money more than it's products. The customer wants a coffee more than it wants his/her money, thus valuing the product of Starbucks more than his/her money. Through the exchange of a lesser value for a greater value, both parties end up gaining a benefit, gaining something of more value to them, and thus both parties end up better off than they were previously. It is through the creation of mutually beneficial relationships that people maximize their survival, prosperity, and happiness in the long-term.
Now, it is quite natural to use a business analogy to describe egoism because it just so happens that the politico-economic system that is synonymous with and holds egoism at its core is capitalism. History shows us quite well that wealth is created under capitalism, thus resulting in a higher standard of living and quality of life for all citizens, regardless of social class. The selfish man, with his happiness and self-interest as his primary goal ends up benefiting those around him.
Examples of notable egoists include Ayn Rand & John Allison.
Society's Misunderstanding of Egoism
The most tragic aspect of American culture as a whole is that we fail to fully understand the true nature of egoism and cast it aside as a corrosive element of one’s character. There was a time in our nation’s history when egoism was the predominant virtue. Man was free to live his life for his own sake, and it was considered noble. But today, we have become shortsighted and downright incompetent (and perhaps frightened) of naming the true nature of our and our fellow man’s actions. Today, the definition of selfishness has been twisted to simply mean short-term gain at someone else’s expense. However, this is not egoism, but the first stage of a "pragmatic" form of nihilism, the philosophy that leads to “total and absolute destructiveness, especially toward the world at large and including oneself.”5 The first stage of nihilism can be graphically represented as:
As shown by this depiction, Person 1 is considered the “selfish” individual gaining value at the expense of Person 2. I say this is the first stage of nihilism because society’s view of egoism is deceptive, as it focuses solely on short-term results and leaves out the long-term effects. The root and culmination of this philosophy is not selfishness, but self-destruction. Although the self is gaining value at first, that is not the end result. A common example of this false idea of egoism is the “businessman who commits fraud out of selfishness.” Think about it. Is the businessman who commits fraud really being selfish? Does hurting his customers contribute to his long-term prosperity and happiness? As stated above, true selfishness is all about maximizing one’s own long-term survival/prosperity/happiness. Businessmen who commit fraud against their customers, or anyone for that matter who seeks to gain value at another’s expense, is not acting in their own self-interest because they undermine and put in jeopardy their own livelihoods. As stated perfectly by Dagny Taggart in Atlas Shrugged, “If ever the pleasure of one has to be bought by the pain of the other, there better be no trade at all. A trade by which one gains and the other loses is a fraud."
People simply choose not to interact with people who cause them harm. Customers are certainly not going to want to deal with a businessman who defrauds them of value. In due time, when word spreads throughout the community (and now thanks to the Internet, the world) of the businessman’s misdeeds, he eventually must either close his doors due to a lack of customers or (relative to the extent of the fraud) move from a life of luxury to the confines of a jail cell. This is where Stage 2, the end result of nihilistic behavior, comes into play. Stage 2 of nihilism is best graphically represented as:
As you can see, value has been annihilated due to the self-destructive behavior of Person 1. Nihilism results in lose-lose scenarios, or what’s known as a negative-sum game. Numerically, nihilism can be represented as (-1 + -1) = -2. Our society fails to realize is that this notion of selfishness is actually self-destruction. When one seeks value at the expense of another, he is sowing the seeds of his own destruction.
Examples of notable nihilists include Bernie Madoff & Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY).
Final Word
The good news is that in reality, it is not really egoism that is being harshly criticized and declared immoral by our society, but nihilism. The bad news is that nihilism is being mistaken for egoism. This has to change if we are to be the free society we once were. It should be no surprise that as altruism has entrenched itself within American culture, our freedoms have lessened. Just this passed week, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) introduced legislation entitled “Shared Sacrifice.”6 This bill, if passed, will further violate the property rights of certain members of our society by forcing them to pay for the mistakes of others. If we are to get back on track to being a rights-respecting Republic once again, we must denounce this cancer of the mind. Altruism must not win this war. Every individual’s life belongs to him or her, and each person has a right to pursue his or her own happiness. Altruism says you do not have that right, that you are obligated to serve others. It’s time we deal with this cancer with the chemo it deserves. Declare that your life is yours. Whenever you hear selfishness being ridiculed, defend it. It may be your own life you save.
*For a more in-depth explanation of these philosophies, check out Craig Biddle's amazing talk: Altruism vs. America: Ayn Rand Solves the Problem
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Endnotes
