Ayn Rand on the Origins of Altruism

[Brant Gaede]

Brant: I do think that altruism would have petered out long ago, if not for its "selfish altruist" psychological component. It has a 'feel good' factor, evidently. You can do something simply human (like helping an old girl cross the road), feel the rush of a good deed done and being needed, modestly tell friends about it - and smugly convince yourself you 'sacrificed' - well, what?

Well, something.

When such altruism is elevated to moral status - when it's really just voluntary good will to others, or immediate concern for their state - it washes away benevolence as a virtue.

Rand cut through all the b.s. with a dose of honesty and truth, and left the 'moral' self-congratulators with not a leg to stand on.

(These are 'the givers', but there're also the takers: power-grabbers in the name of 'morality' deserve the lowest rungs in Hades.)

At best, altruism is a palliative and at worst, extremely vicious.

Benevolence (and generosity) naturally comes from one's self out of psychological and economic capital. It has to do with our social existence which is naturally enough layered on top of the individual aspect of what we are. While I did call this a facet of altruism, it could be better not to. The bad altruism I referred to is a controlling sacrificial morality from others, others who have no actual interest in being practicing altruists themselves--or controlled. That's from the subjective perspective. Objectively they are contravening their basic human nature and sacrificing their lives to their power lust.

--Brant