In defense of selfishness : why the code of self-sacrifice is unjust and destructive / Peter Schwartz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schwartz, Peter, 1949- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rand, Ayn.

Self-interest.

Rand, Ayn--Philosophy.

Philosophy.

Physical Description:

xii, 239 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2015.

Summary:

"From childhood, we're taught one central, non-controversial idea about morality: self-sacrifice is a virtue. It is universally accepted that serving the needs of others, rather than our own, is the essence of morality. To be ethical--it is believed--is to be altruistic. Questioning this belief is regarded as tantamount to questioning the self-evident. Here, Peter Schwartz questions it. In Defense of Selfishness refutes widespread misconceptions about the meaning of selfishness and of altruism. Basing his arguments on Ayn Rand's ethics of rational self-interest, Schwartz demonstrates that genuine selfishness is not exemplified by the brutal plundering of an Attila the Hun or the conniving duplicity of a Bernard Madoff. To the contrary, such people are acting against their actual, long-range interests. The truly selfish individual is committed to moral principles and lives an honest, productive, self-respecting life. He does not feed parasitically off other people. Instead, he renounces the unearned, and deals with others--in both the material and spiritual realms--by offering value for value, to mutual benefit. The selfish individual, Schwartz maintains, lives by reason, not force. He lives by production and trade, not by theft and fraud. He disavows the mindlessness of the do-whatever-you-feel-like emotionalist, and upholds rationality as his primary virtue. He takes pride in his achievements, and does not sacrifice himself to others--nor does he sacrifice others to himself. According to the code of altruism, however, you must embrace self-sacrifice. You must subordinate yourself to others. Altruism calls, not for cooperation and benevolence, but for servitude. It demands that you surrender your interests to the needs of others, that you regard serving others as the moral justification of your existence, that you be willing to suffer so that a non-you might benefit. To this, Schwartz asks simply: Why? Why should the fact that you have achieved any success make you indebted to those who haven't? Why does the fact that someone needs your money create a moral entitlement to it, while the fact that you've earned it, doesn't? Using vivid, real-life examples, In Defense of Selfishness illustrates the iniquity of requiring one man to serve the needs of another. This provocative book challenges readers to re-examine the standard by which they decide what is morally right or wrong. "-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction

The shackles

Altruism as servitude

The perverse meaning of "need"

The omnipresence of altruism

The straw man

Selfishness misdefined

Rational selfishness

The selfishness of love

Moral principles

and their enemy

The selfish need for principles

The moral is the practical

Altruism and the absolutism of your neighbor's wishes

Rational egoism precludes conflicts of interest

The myth of the "public interest"

Who qualifies as the public?

Public interest: making people pay for what they don't want

Individualism vs collectivism

The public interest is not what interests the public

The collectivist mentality

Altruism vs rights

Freedom is negated by a duty to sacrifice

The meaning of rights

The political system that repudiates servitude

The "equality" fraud

The collectivist straitjacket

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

The black hole of selflessness

Human cognition: a supremely selfish act

The zombie order-followers

The goal of self-sacrifice

The altruistic enviers

A code of disvalues

Anti-life

Choosing life

The need for consistency

Making the choice.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781137280169

1137280166

OCLC:

889523293

Online:

Cover image