...realistic, workable, and ultimately, matchlessly effective...

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	• The Virtue of Selfishness Ayn Rand Signet, 1964 - 176 pages average customer review:based on 123 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Gratitude for the American Dream

One woman's manifesto testament of gratitude to the quintessential virtues of the American Dream - industry, enterprise, and entrepreneurialism. Ayn Rand arrived in New York City a 21-year-old Russian refugee who struggled with English. Yet in her lifetime, Ayn Rand became the most read philosopher of the 20th century for her writing in an adopted land and language. Unabashed in her pro-American sentiment, the publication of The Virtue of Selfishness could put many a Republican policy maker to shame.

Love is Selfish

Ayn Rand used the term altruism, in its original meaning (as used by philosopher August Comte who coined the term): self-sacrifice.

To Miss Rand, to sacrifice a greater value (say your beloved child), for the sake of a lesser value (some strangers you did not know) was evil. (I agree).

To save your beloved wife from drowning would be selfish--because *you* loved her; to let her die to save some stranger--when you loved your wife--would be unselfish.

Selfish, as Rand uses the term, means to act in ones own long-term *rational* self-interest.

It does not mean that one cannot have friends--only that "friends" who stab you in the back are not really your friends.

In fact, if you think about it: love IS selfish. To paraphrase Rand, before one can say 'I love you', one must first learn to say the word 'I'.

Of course, if one actually read the book, one would know this. If one reads the book, and still holds these distorted views of Rand's work, then one is either stupid or dishonest.

This does not mean one may still not disagree--there are some things I disagree with Rand on; but, one should not stoop to dishonest smears, name-calling, and outright lies about her work.

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The greatest book on ethics ever

This book is indispensible reading for anyone who has read Ayn Rand's novels. It is a great book and in it Ayn Rand did a supurb job of explaining the essentials of the ethics of her philosopy, Objectivism.

Anyone who agrees with the ideas expressed in her novels should read this work next and use their own judgement to decide if Ayn Rand was right or not. They should not accept the opinions of altruist-collectivist reviewers, who still dominate our culture today, and are always ready to smear her. Considering the greatness of Ayn Rand's philosphy, I don't think that such people will continue to do so for long.

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The Rational Morality of Selfishness

To some of the people who have written previously striving to stain Ayn Rand and Objectivism with examples of brutal acts, it would be a good idea to at least have the decency to actually read The Virtue of Selfishness so they would know what they are talking about, because as is, they only stand out as examples of people talking about a subject they know nothing about. Even more the posted review from the Library Journal, which heads the page, is a highly prejudicial piece of work that only exhibits the author's emotional feelings and distaste for Ayn Rand and Objectivism. Full of sharply pointed adjectives like "outlandish" and "sadly dated" and "mutant symptoms" the author fails to offer factual evidence to make his claim, and in other instances, such as his claim that Rand advocated "the rights of the individual at the expense of the community" was completely mistaken.

Without a doubt, this is a forum of opinions and one has to expect a wide variety of different views from all types of people. But I would expect Amazon to follow a higher standard when posting comments by media sources such as Library Journal. If you are going to post something from a media source, at least post an articulate and well-informed piece instead of a highly prejudicial post, filled with the author's ungrounded opinions divorced from facts.

In the early sixties, when The Virtue of Selfishness hit the market, it was one of the first book-form expositions of Objectivism. True to form, in the introduction to the book, Ayn Rand defines a new concept of egoism and points out that her definition of selfishness, or rational self-interest, differs radically from the common usage of the term. She does this in order to describe positive character traits, and make it possible to conceptualize the self-reliant, self-respecting independent man or woman, who lives his or her life for their own sake, without sacrifice on anyone's part. She explains how the negative connotation of selfishness serves as a package deal to negate the concept of an independent and talented man or woman living their life for their own sake.

What Ayn Rand set out to do with her revolutionary concept of rational self-interest was to conceptualize the men and women of ability and talent: creators, producers and builders, who live independent lives, without sacrificing others to themselves or themselves to others. One of the best graphic illustrations of this concept is the characterization of Howard Roark in The Fountainhead. Here, one sees in a fictionalized version of the Objectivist view of selfishness: a character in love with life, his work, the act of creation, and the sharing of these values with others of similar mind and personality.

Obviously in our society, the Saddam Hussein concept of the selfish brute, who mauls and defiles everything in his path, is very common. However, a cursory knowledge of history would tell one that these horrors, that people often try to slander Objectivism with, are almost always the result of self-sacrificial behavior in the name of a higher cause with an authoritarian leader at the helm. Self-sacrifice and the duty to serve others are at the fundamentals of fascism, Nazism, communism, and every other blight on civilization since the beginning of time.

Saddam Hussein would be a perfect example of this: a man who saw himself as the great Arab leader who would unite the Arab world against the infidels, and in the process, sacrificed anyone and anybody in the name of his higher, mystical cause. Pol Pot was another example. An authoritarian leader armed with his idea of a Marxist agrarian revolution, he had no compunction, under the guise of self-sacrificial service to others, to kill and murder millions of people in order to achieve his perfect, unselfish society.

In contrast to this, on examining Ayn Rand's life, one would see a magnificently benevolent women in love with the mind and efficacious behavior, who by pursuing her rational self-interest, has enlightened the minds of millions of her readers and helped them to pursue a more fruitful and productive life. Her writings on the sorry state of the educational system and its attempt to obliterate reason, reality and individualism are masterpieces of benevolence for those who are trapped in this system, and want to break free from this mind-destroying nightmare.

Rational self-interest is a revolutionary concept that challenges the morality at the very root of our society. If this interests you and you are looking for a different vision of the world, a vision of a better, more rational and productive existence, The Virtue of Selfishness (VOS) may be a book you would want to investigate.

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...realistic, workable, and ultimately, matchlessly effective...

Sift through the pseudo-intellectual scribblings in this Amazon review page and you will find the polarizing effect of Rand's boldness and brashness, and the fear of those who disagree with her, without attempting to engage her philosophy in their own lives.

The truth of the matter is that Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, and its espousal through this book "The Virtue of Selfishness" is realistic, workable, and ultimately, matchlessly effective in the world as it exists. Many find her too forthright, too controversial, and fear that she may be right. At the core, the test of a particular philosophy's precision is how closely it parallels reality and how adherence leads to effectiveness in life. I challenge you to purchase the book, read it with an open mind (no matter your philosophic bent) and with verve and passion, put it to use in your own life.

It works.

If you have the pluck necessary, you will be all the happier, and your actions will inspire an echoing awe within yourself and have a resounding effect in the reality in which we all find ourselves.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, page 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

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