Philosophy

When you hear the word selfishness, what comes to mind? Typically, selfishness is associated with amoral, predatory behavior. It’s a word used to describe people like Bernard Madoff or Attila the Hun. On the other hand, selflessness is generally celebrated and aligned…

I want to control you, which is why I intimidate you by calling you “selfish.”

Your life depends on it.

Why should one follow honesty systematically, as a principle?

Moral principles, such as self-interest, rationality, honesty, justice, integrity, independence, productiveness, and pride, are not based on feelings but on facts.

Why do we accept humility as a virtue?

Benevolence does not require self-sacrifice.

The prerequisite of acting ethically in business and other realms of life is clear thinking.

Accepting selflessness as the moral ideal is a source of unearned guilt and irreconcilable with success and happiness.

Ayn Rand convincingly demonstrated that our survival and thriving depends on identifying and consistently applying valid principles, no matter how “extreme” they may be considered by those clinging to the majority consensus.

According to conventional morality, pride is a sin. According to Aristotle, it is the crown of all virtues.

It’s the pragmatists—those who reject principled morality—who are naïve.

“Allan saw his love of Aristotle and of Ayn Rand as of a piece. He was right, because Aristotle and Rand do advocate the same fundamentals: the commitment to reason and to living life fully, realizing one’s highest potential as man.”

My book, How to Be Profitable and Moral: A Rational Egoist Approach to Business, has been translated into Finnish and was recently published in Finland. At the book launch in Helsinki, an appreciative reader (of the English-language original) and a business owner...

Most people think that it is unethical to be selfish. They have been taught that we should always put others’ interests ahead of our own and that pursuing self-interest is immoral. That is why they also think that business—which by definition pursues self-interest:...

I was listening to the radio on the weekend and heard a leading Canadian socialist, Stephen Lewis, lament about the big income gap between the rich and the poor as one of the worst ills in society today. Reflecting on that and on the exodus of millionaires from France...

I am writing this post in Finland where I am working for a month. Last week the Finns marked their annual unofficial “National Envy Day” when the Finnish Revenue Service publicized the income taxes and income of every tax-paying citizen. That in itself is a shocking...

Two weeks ago, the mayor of a Spanish town in Andalusia was orchestrating raids to local supermarkets for the purpose of stealing food to feed the poor. He was quoted as saying: “Someone has to do something so families can eat.” Mr. Sanchez Gordillo, an avowed...

[On his show] Rush Limbaugh was speaking about the “invisible hand” described by Adam Smith. It is not out of benevolence, Rush said, that your grocer sells you food. It is the grocer’s self-interest–his desire to feed his family–that motivates him. But, Rush quickly...

Have you ever wondered why seemingly intelligent, articulate people cannot seem to come to a consensus on the important issues facing our nation today? Or even on what the issues should be? Whether it’s the economy, foreign policy, immigration, gay marriage or any...