10 ms·

That's pretty disturbing, considering one of the book's main arguments is against altruism.

• unalone 18y ago
  It's not altruism if you benefit from the results. It was in Rand's best interests to influence as many people as possible, since she promotes a system of logic and selfishness to better people. If people subscribe to her theory of belief, she gains as much as they do.
  • msg 18y ago
    Selfishness isn't selfishness if you lose something.
    • unalone 18y ago
      It's still selfish if you gain more for yourself than you lose. What is Rand losing in this case?
      • msg 18y ago
        No. A rich executive loses a whole bunch of money. He "lost a lot for himself", but he was acting from selfish motives, like the search for more money. "Selfish" goes to motivation, not consequences. Depending on the amount of pessimism in your dogma, you can always interpret actions as selfish or altruistic after the fact. Reasoning that can create two equal and opposite arguments like this doesn't mean anything.