Philosophy

The Religious Virtue of Humility contrasted with The Rational Virtue of Pride

February 2nd is the birthday of Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Ayn Rand developed and defended Objectivism, a philosophy that advocates “rational selfishness.”

Ayn Rand left a legacy in defense of reason and freedom that serves as a guidepost for the American spirit–especially pertinent today when America and what it stands for are under assault.

This essay will serve as the first entry in a series of essays in which I will be looking at the work of three major twentieth-century philosophers; Friederich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Ayn Rand.

We know from Atlas Shrugged, and many other Ayn Rand writings, that capitalists are egoists. They trade to make a profit, and this is morally admirable. They are wealth creators. But it is important not to forget that customers and employees are egoists too.

Love is far too precious to be offered indiscriminately. It is above all in the area of love that egalitarianism ought to be repudiated. Love represents an exalted exchange–a spiritual exchange–between two people, for the purpose of mutual benefit.

The worst of Christianity was the Dark Ages. Its best was the Medieval Renaissance. The worst of collectivism was Auschwitz, gulags, and 120 million civilians murdered in a century. There is no best.

IThis video might be the most important interview you have ever watched.

The “we fallacy” is ubiquitous, especially among professors, politicians, policy wonks, and pundits. The fallacy of “we” is a form of the fallacy argumentum ad populum or “appeal to the people,” to “popular opinion.”

For the majority of people, virtuous egoism is an oxymoron: they don’t think it is possible to be virtuous and pursue self-interest at the same time.

The first part of this post’s title is a quotation from a student in my business ethics class. She had said that to her teenagers after learning about rational self-interest, or egoism, in the course and reading How to Be Profitable and Moral. More exactly, she had...

Capitalism is perfect precisely to the extent it’s the only social system consonant with human nature.

In his first interview, Ayn Rand Institute’s new CEO, Jim Brown, talked exclusively at his office in Irvine, California with Scott Holleran.

Whether you believe that acting morally costs or pays depends on your view of morality.

To make selfishness, or self-interest, unpalatable and to promote altruism instead, the majority of philosophers misrepresent self-interest as a package-deal.