We see a bright, talented man with a promising future. We also see that he cannot leave the alcohol (or drugs) alone. We know that if he doesn’t soon change his behavior he will lose his job and eventually everything. We know this behavior is not in his self-interest; that he is behaving as if he has no self to protect and becomes a self-less man. It is this selflessness that people have wrongly labeled selfish.

The problem is, everything that has ever been called self-interested has also been called selfish and condemned as evil as a result of this confusion. Unfortunately, most of the planet thinks in this confused way. Long road ahead.

“Once we are free, or relatively free, to live our lives in the manner we choose, we must answer the question, “How then shall we actually live our lives?” Will we live our lives as hedonists, indulging ourselves with various amusements, diversions, and pleasures? Or will we choose the more difficult path of personal development and acceptance of social responsibility? ”

“Personal freedom may be the first goal we work towards — but we can’t stop there; it isn’t enough. There is so much more to life. Using our freedom to take on greater social responsibility, as well as striving to reach our fullest potential as humans, needs to be a goal we support just as much as freedom from government coercion.”

Then there is this gem:

“The “virtue of selfishness” is an oxymoron. Selfishness is not a virtue. Now, I understand all the arguments — I’ve read all the books. I know that self-interest channeled to the social good, as expressed through Adam Smith’s “invisible hand,” is the single most brilliant insight about social organization ever made in history. That being said, selfishness (as opposed to self-interest) is still not a virtue. It is something to be discouraged, and not something to be supported.”

He needs to be defended and supported for the courage that he has shown in challenging ObamaCare. But in the end, I think businessmen like this that push the “I love profits but social responsibility is still king” do more harm than good.

“However, despite her literary greatness and many positive contributions to the freedom movement, I believe that Rand has also harmed the movement. How? She was overly provocative. ”

Wow, what a coward.

Well, most people on today’s right or center do not express their altruism as explicitly as the villains of the fountainhead. But many of today’s leftists do. If you go to any leftist website, you will find open and explicit attacks on self-interest that sound as if they were lifted from Rand’s novels. All leftists do is preach altruism and egalitarianism, especially egalitarianism which is their god. Rand nailed the leftist personality and psychology. No one in history has understand the Left like Rand. She knew them down to their rotted souls.

The reason I bring this up is because one of the major criticisms of Rand’s novels is “but people don’t speak that way.” Yes they do. And I think it is not a stretch to say that a guy like Paul Krugman is not too far from sounding like Ellsworth Toohey. And Allan Greenspan was a real life version of Dr. Robert Stadler.

I really don’t think a boycott will pan out, anyway, because people who (unlike me) think that pesticide residue is the biggest issue in their lives are not going to be able to stay away from that place.