Category #10
Selfishness
In article <dls216.27.30F42BF5@psu.edu>, dls216@psu.edu (Daniel Smith) wrote: Newsgroups: alt.philosophy.objectivism,alt.neo-tech
Subject: Maturing into an Objectivist
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 22:16:53 GMT
Maturing into an Objectivist
Some detractors AND supporters of Objectivism are like Moliere's Tartuffe with his hypocritical piety. Or, perhaps they are more like Moliere's Alceste in "The Misanthrope" who rants and rails, neither delivering much of value to anyone nor improving much of anything. Such people ignorantly bluster about things, situations, and people they do not understand. Such people deliver only the nothingness of an ego-tripping Alceste. ...But, many could mature into the everythingness of a Defoe's Robinson Crusoe or Moll Flanders.
Not to be an Alceste takes some brain, mouth, and keyboard responsibility. Discipline is required to deal contextually with reality from the widest perspectives. Indeed, learning to work tolerantly, efficiently, profitably with problems, situations, and people while remaining uncompromising on principles is hard work. To produce competitive values for the world takes constant discipline, thought, and control combined with fully integrated honesty.
Challenge
I agree with most of what you say, but an individual's primary concern with the production of values is for oneself, not "for the world."
Response
You are right, and the identifications of Neo-Tech support you fully. This is a common misunderstanding by Objectivists with respect to Neo-Tech.
Neo-Tech always attempts so secure the fundamental, soundly derived principles, and then integrate them into the widest possible perspective.
"Producing values for others," in the perspective of Neo-Tech is not altruism. First, examine the statement above very carefully. It says: "...produce competitive values for the world..." [emphasis mine]
This subsumes rights, property rights, rational and logical action, and a host of other things.
Now, consider this: producing values for others is not *the* end, it's *a* means. In other words, NT takes the production of values in one's selfish pursuit of personal happiness (the purpose of conscious life) to the widest perspective, integrating the highest known efficiencies in value production: the division of labor.
If you're going to produce values and trade them with others who are producing values, this subsumes the fact that there are others whom you are producing values for. There's no implication whatsoever that this equates to sacrificing values, which I think you've taken it to mean. A valid refutation of self-sacrifice and unearned guilt is essentially the "first thing" a student of Neo-Tech learns.
Is this clear? I hope so, but am happy to offer additional explanation if you or anyone else requires it.
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