“Atlas”: people guided by reason and self-interest” (Rubin 2007). A writer by the name of Ayn Rand publishes a lengthy novel in 1950s about objectivism and the idea that it is fair for individuals to live entirely for their own interest.
The notion that individuals should only be concerned entirely about their own well-being seems very selfish according to moral rules in our society. Rand’s message is geared towards the belief that we should not be controlled by government or corporate politics but rather our own individual goals and achievements. This is a objective philosophy that looks at the world from an individual’s point of view without further asking the questions: how will my actions impact other individuals? Is my happiness worth another’s suffering? Can happiness be obtained by helping others than perusing someone’s own goals?
Objectivism is not wrong, but it should be controlled as it can be interpreted differently by numerous individuals. The philosophy does account for respecting the rights of other, but not at the price of your own well-being or individual benefits. The road to success, even for those who are self-built millionaires, did not come without any help from other individuals along the way. Building a business can be an individual task, but your customer makes that business successful and in turn leads to happiness. The issue with this philosophy is the elimination of the “gray area” where if everyone thought as an individual then the human race would be worse off than it is today. When first reading this article, I was reminded by the words uttered by JFK, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country”. In a time where our country continues to recover from a major recession, we are reminded about how we reached this point in our economy: individual greed and egotistical goals. In order to progress as a human race, we should strive at helping others and in turn we would help ourselves grow into better individuals.
References
Rubin, H. (2007). The Literature Of Capitalism, The New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Sep 15, 2007 pg. C.1. from ProQuest pg. 3.
ObjectivismObjectivism (Ayn Rand), the philosophy of Ayn Rand (1905-82) whose tenets are presented as metaphysically objective →
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