Peter Schwartz - In Defense of Selfishness

Also by Peter Schwartz

The Foreign Policy of Self-Interest: A Moral Ideal for America

Libertarianism: The Perversion of Liberty

In Defense of Selfishness

Why the Code of Self-Sacrifice Is Unjust and Destructive

Peter Schwartz

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To Sandra,

who makes it all possible

Contents

Altruism as Servitude

The Perverse Meaning of Need

The Omnipresence of Altruism

Selfishness Misdefined

Rational Selfishness

The Selfishness of Love

The Selfish Need for Principles

The Moral Is the Practical

Altruism and the Absolutism of Your Neighbors Wishes

Rational Egoism Precludes Conflicts of Interest

4. The Myth of the Public Interest

Who Qualifies as the Public?

Public Interest: Making People Pay for What They Dont Want

Individualism vs Collectivism

The Public Interest Is Not What Interests the Public

The Collectivist Mentality

Freedom Is Negated by a Duty to Sacrifice

The Meaning of Rights

The Sole Political System that Repudiates Servitude

The Equality Fraud

To Be Taken Care of Is to Be Controlled

Regulations Victimize Both Producers and Consumers

The Selfish Motive to Make Safe Products

Self-Interest Makes Objective Thinking Possible

Sacrificing the Rational to the Irrational

Altruism and the All-Powerful State

Human Cognition: A Supremely Selfish Act

The Zombie Order-Followers

8. The Goal of Self-Sacrifice

The Altruistic Enviers

A Code of Disvalues

Anti-Life

The Need for Consistency

Making the Choice

Introduction

Every civilized culture is shaped by some view of right and wrong. While there will always be people who simply are amoral, such as criminals, they are the exception and they do not influence a cultures direction. If a society predominantly rejects morality, it quickly disintegrates into savage, warring gangs. Thus, in every culture, although disagreements can abound concerning the means of implementation, there must be widespread acceptance of some fundamental ethical principle. In ours, it is the principle of altruism.

Whenever we are exhorted to do what is trumpeted as morally rightgive to the homeless, preserve the safety net, shrink the inequality of incomesit is the code of self-sacrifice that is being invoked. Some people may comply wholeheartedly, many may comply grudgingly, others may not comply at allbut virtually everyone believes the altruist code to be correct. Non-compliers, feeling guilty, may come up with various rationalizations for their failure to obey such exhortations, but few will offer any moral objections. Few will challenge the moral validity of the idea that the needs of others should take precedence over ones own interests.

In this book you will find the reasons to challenge it.

My purpose is to alter your view of altruism and of selfishnessnot just your evaluation of them, but your understanding of what these two concepts actually mean. Here, for example, are some common beliefs about altruism:

• Adopting altruism is the way to achieve social harmony.
• Altruism underlies such basic virtues as honesty and integrity.
• The public interest clashes with private interests.
• Love and friendship are rooted in altruism.
• There is no moral alternative to the code of self-sacrifice.

And here are some common beliefs about selfishness:

• Selfishness is typified by the predatory behavior of thugs and con men.
• Only materialistic values are compatible with selfishness.
• The greed of businessmen leads to shoddy and unsafe products.
• The pursuit of self-interest requires the renunciation of moral principles.

All these beliefs are mistakenand the task of this book is to undo such misconceptions. This book demonstrates, in both theory and practice, the iniquity of altruism. It reveals the lack of any validation for altruisms demands, whether voiced by liberals who urge us to sacrifice in order to provide for the uninsured or by conservatives who urge us to sacrifice in order to preserve the traditions of our community. Using vivid, real-life examples, this book explains why the continual social conflicts we experience are primarily a result, not of the absence of altruism in our lives, but of its overwhelming presence. And it offers a genuine, non-predatory alternativean alternative that creates a harmony of interests among peoplebased on Ayn Rands ethics of rational self-interest.

Our society takes as a given the idea that pursuing your own welfare is morally tainted but sacrificing yourself for the benefit of others is virtuous. In Defense of Selfishness: Why the Code of Self-Sacrifice Is Unjust and Destructive asks you to question that assumption.

One

YesIm defending selfishness.

Lets first examine what Im defending it against.

People disagree on a vast range of important issues. They argue over whether God exists, whether man has free will, whether capitalism is superior to socialism, whether rights pertain to fetuses. But one crucial question generates almost no debate: the question of whether self-sacrifice is morally good. Sacrificing yourself for the needs of others is universally seen as the essence of morality. The tenets of altruism are widely regarded not simply as true, but as practically self-evident. Acting for the benefit of others is deemed virtuous, while acting for your own benefit is not. People may, of course, choose not to behave ethically, but they take as incontrovertible the premise that if one does wish to be ethical one must be altruistic. Even questioning this premise is, to most people, equivalent to entertaining the notion that the earth is flat.

Why?

Altruism is commonly viewed as a proscription against preying on other people. It is taken as a demand that we refrain from acting like Attila the Hunthat we respect each others rights and avoid victimizing anyone in pursuit of our goals. Altruism, it is held, keeps us from one anothers throats, and leads to a benevolent, harmonious society.

But does itor does it lead to the opposite?

Consider the doctrines actual meaning. It tells you to subordinate yourself to other people. It tells you that in any choice you make, your own interests should be less important to you than those of someone else. It tells you that if others have less than you, you are duty-bound to provide for them. Thus, no matter how diligently you may have worked to earn your money, every time you spend it on yourself rather than on the needyand there is always somebody, somewhere whose unfulfilled needs you can meetyou are acting immorally. To comply with the demands of altruism, you must sacrifice your wealth, your goals, your interests. If you have something people lack, you must grant them moral priority. You must be willing, that is, to serve others.

Altruism as Servitude

Lets look at some real-life examples.

Suppose you are a serious, industrious high school student. You study hard to achieve good grades, you prepare to get into a top college, you work at part-time jobs to save money. But since many high schools now require students to spend significant time performing so-called community service in order to graduate, you may be informed that your single-minded concern with your own life is morally unacceptable. Only if you sacrifice that concernonly if you take time away from your studies and your future in favor of, say, cleaning bedpans in a hospital wardwill you be declared worthy of a diploma.