Ron Paul Channel's very first show: Interview with Greenwald

[BumRushDaShow]

59. Here is the Libertarian credos, front and center

The Virtue of Selfishness

Throughout history, man has been offered the following alternative: be “moral” through a life of sacrifice to others—or be “selfish” through a life of sacrificing others to oneself. In The Virtue of Selfishness, Ayn Rand blasts this as a false alternative, holding that a selfish, non-sacrificial way of life is both possible and necessary for man.

The Virtue of Selfishness is a collection of essays presenting Ayn Rand’s radical moral code of rational selfishness and its opposition to the prevailing morality of altruism—i.e., to the duty to sacrifice for the sake of others.

In “The Objectivist Ethics,” Rand gives an outline of her code of rational selfishness, and of her argument establishing it as the only objective, fact-based moral code in human history. In the course of the essay, she raises and answers a fundamental and fascinating question: Why does one even need a morality?

In essays including “The Ethics of Emergencies,” “The ‘Conflicts’ of Men’s Interests,” and “Doesn’t Life Require Compromise?” she raises common ethical questions, shows how altruism has crippled people’s ability to approach them rationally, and explains how her moral code provides a solution to them. In “Man’s Rights” and “The Nature of Government” she applies her ethics to formulate the basic principles of her political philosophy, while rejecting the altruistic doctrines of “rights” to health care, employment, etc.


http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_nonfiction_the_virtue_of_selfishness

Sound familiar? The railing against "altruism" is certainly NOT "liberal" or "progressive". In fact it is the antithesis of those concepts. To even embrace being "selfish" without accepting that their brand of it DOES harm others, is what they miss.

And being "opportunistic" is certainly right up there as a prime example of this philosophy of "rational selfishness". Their argument being - "See??!1!11!! I exposed the EVIL Nazi fascist Obama!!111!!1! Now I EARNED my cookie!!!1!11! Meanwhile those who they "use" to get to their goal, are summarily discarded and ultimately "sacrificed" for the $$$. They see this as a "win-win".