Non-ObjectiBlog

The Bromide Sensor alarm woke me from a sound sleep this morning with a post at this blog.  Here’s my reply.

I think it is important to remember Rand's fundamental argument here -- something that the folks at ARCHN consistently fail to do. The argument starts, not with a discussion of altruism and egoism but with a question: Why do human beings need a morality in the first place? In the context of that question, Rand argues that man's nature as a rational being who does not act automatically, requires that he make choices between actions that will further his life (as a rational animal) and acts which will not.

Under normal conditions a person acts morally by pursuing values that are not a threat to other humans in a society that is not faced with emergencies. An emergency removes that possibility, so, as Rand clearly states in VOS, the first rational task is to get things back to normal. Since normal means a state in which people are able to pursue their values once more, it is in one's self interest to help people who are, because of the emergency, not able to do so. This is not an obligation that comes from some rule, it is not required by morality, it is only if it is in one's power, and it is not the standard by which one lives on a daily basis or decides what acts are moral. To set one's moral code with reference to what one does in an emergency is to live as if life were a constant emergency. That is the Christian view, it is not Objectivism's.

As for organized charity, the general principle is that if one can afford to send money or spend time working to pursue a value (a cure for cancer, a political or philosophical movement) it is not a sacrifice (altruistic) to do so.
Altruism means sacrifice for the sake of others, not "support deserving people in the pursuit of their goals." 'Sacrifice' means SACRIFICE' which means it's gotta hurt to count. Put it this way: Rand is out to destroy the reputations of not only Robin Hood but the Biblical story of the Widow's Mite

AF