Ayn Rand: the Virtue of Selfishness

Collectively, we as a people have been evolving. However, our egos have been devolving, as we are letting charity and selflessness get to us. Instead of being more focused on ourselves and our success, we are focussed on that of others. As is critical for our success, we need to invest more time in ourselves, and less in others.

In the past century, we've let others take over our lives. Whether it be the government handing out money to those who chose not to work, or persons making a living off of gossiping about the lives of others, we've let our self-respect fall. As a result, we become more dependent on others, all because we don't care about ourselves to the same degree.

If you wonder how this has to do with one's ego, the connection is quite simple. Our ego is our sense of self-importance. It's why we want to work hard and stay alive. We want to seem important to ourselves and others. To stay alive, we must put our interests above others. Otherwise, our lives turn into detail with no purpose.

The problems with any selflessness are self-evident. They've killed millions of people, and have started wars. A prime example is the Soviet Union. Within the Soviet Union, a single dictator was allowed by the people to rise to power as a result of people's mistrust in themselves. As a result, a path was created for power to be taken.

Fixing this issue is much simpler than it seems. The only necessary action to achieve such a result is to understand yourself and your actions, then make changes accordingly. There are two simple questions to answer before you take action. First, ask yourself, 'How will this help me?' It's important to ask this because you're not going to be able to respect yourself are doing tasks that don't help you. The second question is, 'Does it represent me?' Your actions must be consistent with you to work.

Always keep in mind, your ego is a defining characteristic of you. It's what keeps you who you are, and it's what keeps you alive and active. If you let it get too small, you will die. You won't want to keep going, you will surrender to the forces around you, and will be brought down. Next time you think of being selfless, think of the Soviet Union and ask yourself if it's where you'd rather be.

Next time you think of letting up, becoming nicer, don't. You'll make the world worse for everyone.

Ayn Rand was a very self-centered person, who would often time refuse to believe that others existed (Baker 132)

Ayn Rand firmly believed that individuals ultimately need to invest in themselves, not others (Badhwar and Long).

Rand maintained that at one point, individuals retained full control over their lives.

Rand was extremely critical of government assistance, calling it 'Deplorable.'

Rand believed that individualism had digressed, leading to others being deeply vested in the lives of others.

Rand believed that ego was related to their ability to thrive and that without such, people would end up dying very quickly (Cummins)

Rand stated multiple times that the Soviet Union rose in part due to the people’s lack of self-respect and self-interest(United States Congress).

Rand said that such an issue is a problem, but is also one that is corrected fairly easily (Ayn Rand Institute).

As a result of Rand’s firm belief, these two steps accurately represent what Rand would have had people do(Chiavaroli). It’s important to note that these are not steps published by Rand, rather ones created given the works of Rand and analysis of her philosophy.

Though Rand did in no way respect the idea of collectivism, she understood that one’s actions could affect the community (Powell).

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