Atlas Still Shrugs

February 24, 2012

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No other book has influenced my life philosophically, politically or emotionally the way that Atlas Shrugged has. It would be fair to say that I am who I am because of this book. This book defined the meaning of life for me and gave me a better understanding of society as a whole. I can still remember how I felt the first time I read John Galt’s speech…it was then that I began to “get it.”

The Destruction of America

The destruction of America can be defined in one word “altruism.” Altruism is the belief that we owe a duty or loyalty to others just as we do to ourselves…what rubbish! Rand destroyed this myth in her book Atlas Shrugged when her character known as John Galt took over the airways and let everyone know that we are not our brothers keeper, nor is he ours. We do not owe a higher duty to anyone other than ourselves and that everything we do is for our own personal gain, just as it should be.

From the time of our conception everything we do is for our own selfish reasons, as it should be. The chance that you were even conceived is because of a selfish act of one of the millions of sperm beating the others to the egg first. Altruism played no part in our conception, so why should it play a part in out lives?

Everything we do is and should be for our own self interest. Why would we do anything for any other reason? Indeed there are no truly selfless acts. Any act that someone may think of is done out of a self interest. Things like donating to charity although it helps others gives the person doing the donating a sense of gratitude knowing that they helped someone. This sense of gratitude gives that person a good feeling, which in turn is a self pleasure. Because of this, the act of charity cannot be considered a true selfless act because the person received something from it themselves…a good feeling.

Many will take what I am saying as selfish and think I am implying that we should not help others. This is not what I am saying at all, of course we should help others, but not through force or coercion, but of our own free will and choice. Of course we feel a sense of pleasure when helping others and there is nothing wrong with self pleasure. Everything we do should be for our own interest first, but if we can help others in the process great!

Altruism is not a virtue, it’s a cancer. America was built on free market Capitalism and people doing things for their own self interest, just as it should be. There is nothing evil about Capitalism and making money. It is not wrong to look out for your own self interest, to do otherwise is to deny your reason for living.

I swear by my Life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine. I am John Galt!

Altruism Defined

Altruism is defined as:

The principle or practice of unselfish concern for or devotion to the welfare of others ( opposed to egoism).

To many this may sound very noble and they would probably question why I would have any issue with this. Altruism is not a natural behavior nor is it consistent with survival. From the moment of our birth and even the time before our very conception we were programed for survival. As I pointed out earlier, even before we were conceived there was a battle going on for survival. Of the millions of sperm that could have been responsible for your life, only one was ultimately victorious in fertilizing the egg that made you what you are today.

During this battle for survival altruism did not play a part. At no time did any of the sperm sacrifice themselves for the good of the others. Quite the opposite in fact, it was a battle until the end. In the end only one went on to fertilize the egg that eventually become the person that is here today. Since that time we have fought for our own survival.

As Machiavelli pointed out, no one does anything that is not in their best interest. Many people have tried to come up with a completely selfless act to counter this statement but have failed. One might say a mother who takes care of her child is a selfless act, but not so entirely. One reason she does so is because she does not want to be looked down on by society as a bad mother. This feeling of praise as being a “good mother” gives her a sense of pride. From this she receives satisfaction making the act no longer a selfless one. This is not to say that a mother does not love her children and has only selfish reasons for taking care of them, but they are also not completely selfless either.

John Galt Speech (condensed)

For twelve years you’ve been asking “Who is John Galt?” This is John Galt speaking. I’m the man who’s taken away your victims and thus destroyed your world. You’ve heard it said that this is an age of moral crisis and that Man’s sins are destroying the world. But your chief virtue has been sacrifice, and you’ve demanded more sacrifices at every disaster. You’ve sacrificed justice to mercy and happiness to duty. So why should you be afraid of the world around you?

Your world is only the product of your sacrifices. While you were dragging the men who made your happiness possible to your sacrificial altars, I beat you to it. I reached them first and told them about the game you were playing and where it would take them. I explained the consequences of your ‘brother-love’ morality, which they had been too innocently generous to understand. You won’t find them now, when you need them more than ever.

We’re on strike against your creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties. If you want to know how I made them quit, I told them exactly what I’m telling you tonight. I taught them the morality of Reason — that it was right to pursue one’s own happiness as one’s principal goal in life. I don’t consider the pleasure of others my goal in life, nor do I consider my pleasure the goal of anyone else’s life.

I am a trader. I earn what I get in trade for what I produce. I ask for nothing more or nothing less than what I earn. That is justice. I don’t force anyone to trade with me; I only trade for mutual benefit. Force is the great evil that has no place in a rational world. One may never force another human to act against his/her judgment. If you deny a man’s right to Reason, you must also deny your right to your own judgment. Yet you have allowed your world to be run by means of force, by men who claim that fear and joy are equal incentives, but that fear and force are more practical.

You’ve allowed such men to occupy positions of power in your world by preaching that all men are evil from the moment they’re born. When men believe this, they see nothing wrong in acting in any way they please. The name of this absurdity is ‘original sin’. That’s impossible. That which is outside the possibility of choice is also outside the province of morality. To call sin that which is outside man’s choice is a mockery of justice. To say that men are born with a free will but with a tendency toward evil is ridiculous. If the tendency is one of choice, it doesn’t come at birth. If it is not a tendency of choice, then man’s will is not free.

And then there’s your ‘brother-love’ morality. Why is it moral to serve others, but not yourself? If enjoyment is a value, why is it moral when experienced by others, but not by you? Why is it immoral to produce something of value and keep it for yourself, when it is moral for others who haven’t earned it to accept it? If it’s virtuous to give, isn’t it then selfish to take?

Your acceptance of the code of selflessness has made you fear the man who has a dollar less than you because it makes you feel that that dollar is rightfully his. You hate the man with a dollar more than you because the dollar he’s keeping is rightfully yours. Your code has made it impossible to know when to give and when to grab.

You know that you can’t give away everything and starve yourself. You’ve forced yourselves to live with undeserved, irrational guilt. Is it ever proper to help another man? No, if he demands it as his right or as a duty that you owe him. Yes, if it’s your own free choice based on your judgment of the value of that person and his struggle. This country wasn’t built by men who sought handouts. In its brilliant youth, this country showed the rest of the world what greatness was possible to Man and what happiness is possible on Earth.

Then it began apologizing for its greatness and began giving away its wealth, feeling guilty for having produced more than its neighbors. Twelve years ago, I saw what was wrong with the world and where the battle for Life had to be fought. I saw that the enemy was an inverted morality and that my acceptance of that morality was its only power. I was the first of the men who refused to give up the pursuit of his own happiness in order to serve others.

To those of you who retain some remnant of dignity and the will to live your lives for yourselves, you have the chance to make the same choice. Examine your values and understand that you must choose one side or the other. Any compromise between good and evil only hurts the good and helps the evil.

If you’ve understood what I’ve said, stop supporting your destroyers. Don’t accept their philosophy. Your destroyers hold you by means of your endurance, your generosity, your innocence, and your love. Don’t exhaust yourself to help build the kind of world that you see around you now. In the name of the best within you, don’t sacrifice the world to those who will take away your happiness for it.

The world will change when you are ready to pronounce this oath: I swear by my Life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine.

What Does All This Mean?

The point Ayn Rand was trying to make in Atlas Shrugged was not that we should all be selfish people and not care for others, but that we should not put others before ourselves and our own needs. Of course it is okay and noble to want to help others, but not by means of coercion and force. All charity should be voluntary or it is not charity.

Today we are taught that we are our brothers keeper and his needs should be placed above our own. This of course is nonsense and goes against our very nature. I do not have an obligation to anyone, nor does anyone have an obligation to me, unless they or I choose to.

As John Galt so eloquently stated:

“Then there’s your ‘brother-love’ morality. Why is it moral to serve others, but not yourself? If enjoyment is a value, why is it moral when experienced by others, but not by you? Why is it immoral to produce something of value and keep it for yourself, when it is moral for others who haven’t earned it to accept it? If it’s virtuous to give, isn’t it then selfish to take? Your acceptance of the code of selflessness has made you fear the man who has a dollar less than you because it makes you feel that that dollar is rightfully his. You hate the man with a dollar more than you because the dollar he’s keeping is rightfully yours. Your code has made it impossible to know when to give and when to grab.”