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by Rick Gaber _____ mean people expect most others to be mean. |
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The
Ultimate Absurdity During the 1990's politicians and journalists alike heaped scorn on Microsoft Founder Bill Gates for not giving "enough" to charity. Here is a man who could be called the greatest benefactor of mankind in our lifetimes who, by the nature of his business, doubled, tripled, and even QUADRUPLED the productivity of millions of people. Yet these philosophical barbarians could measure his value only by what he had or hadn't given away to whomever THEY thought should receive his attention. Beyond disgusting. Sadly, the philosophically crippled Mr. Gates finally gave upwards of 20 Billion dollars to charities which likely did less than ten percent as much good as his donating it to his friend Warren Buffett could have done. The investment genius Buffett, of course, could have invested it in vastly more wisely in tremendously more productive, and thus life-improving, enterprises if Gates couldn't invest the money in his own business. Philosophy does matter. |
"Man's life, as required by his nature, is not the life of a mindless brute, of a looting thug or a mooching mystic, but the life of a thinking being -- not life by means of force or fraud, but life by means of achievement -- not survival at any price, since there's only one price that pays for man's survival: reason." -- John Galt in Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand |
"I have presented the barest essentials of my system, but they are sufficient to indicate in what manner the Objectivist ethics is the morality of life -- as against the three major schools of ethical theory, the mystic, the social, and the subjective ... which represent the morality of death. ... These three schools differ only in their method of approach, not in their content. In content. they are merely variants of altruism, the ethical theory which regards man as a sacrificial animal, which holds that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only viable option." -- Ayn Rand, "The Objectivist Ethics" |
"The foundation of individualism lies in one's moral right
to pursue one's own happiness. This pursuit requires a
large amount of independence, initiative, and
self-responsibility. "But true individualism entails cooperating with others through trade, which facilitates the pursuit of each party's happiness, and which is carried out not just on the level of goods but on the level of knowledge and friendship. Trade is essential for life; it provides one with many of the goods and values one needs. Creating an environment where trade flourishes is of great importance and great interest for the individualist. "Politically, true individualism means recognizing that one has a right to his own life and happiness. But it also means uniting with other citizens to preserve and defend the institutions that protect that right." -- Shawn E. Klein, HERE |
“Through centuries of scourges and
disasters, brought about by your code of morality, you
have cried that your code had been broken, that the
scourges were punishment for breaking it, that men were
too weak and too selfish to spill all the blood it
required. You damned man, you damned existence, you
damned this earth, but never dared to question your
code. . . You went on crying that your code
was noble, but human nature was not good enough to
practice it. And no one rose to ask the question:
Good?—by what standard?" - John Galt, HERE
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"For the first time in history, the rational and the good are fully armed in the battle against evil. Here we finally find the answer to our paradox; now we can understand the nature of the social power held by evil. Ultimately, the evil, the irrational, truly has no power. The evil men’s control of morality is transient; it lives on borrowed time made possible only by the errors of the good. In time, as more honest men grasp the truth, evil’s stranglehold will be easily broken." -- Dr. Andrew Bernstein, HERE |
Classical Individualism |
... BECAUSE IT'S A NECESSARY PART OF THE ETERNAL VIGILANCE REQUIRED FOR LIBERTY
"Of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst." -- Robert A. Heinlein's character Jubal Harshaw in Stranger in a Strange Land.
"Politicians never accuse you of 'greed' for wanting other people's money -- only for wanting to keep your own money."-- Joseph Sobran
"Political power alone should be equal among human beings; yet, striving for other kinds of equality absolutely requires political inequality." -- Tibor Machan
"When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men together in a society, they create for themselves in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it." -- Frederic Bastiat
"A nation brought up to regard the principles of duty and self-sacrifice as cardinal virtues will be helpless when confronted by a gang of thugs who demand obedience and self-sacrifice." -- Ayn Rand
...and find a telling example of how traditional "conservatives" are too stupid and/or too cowardly to admit that here.
One of the favorite face-saving myths of the altruists is that the bloody dictators of the 20th century were self-described evil men. The fact is the vast majority of them saw themselves as benefactors of the people who happened to believe: 1. that the group (proletariat, master race, the fatherland, the motherland, the state, society, the greater good, the unlimited majority, whatever) was supreme, 2. that the group required sacrifices from individuals, 3. that they, the rulers, were uniquely empowered to effect those sacrifices, 4. that the ends justify the means, 5. that if the means required murdering millions of people, and destroying the lives of millions of others, so be it. Only the moral code of altruism, which not only apologizes for, but demands, sacrifice of individuals, makes such things possible even in modern, so called "enlightened" societies. Only altuism can make such things "justified" in the minds of self-styled "intellectuals" who never, ever seem to question whether altruism itself is at fault, nor, indeed, whether there are any other moral codes to serve as superior, benevolent alternatives. It is said when Pol Pot was a college student in Paris, he swore to bring "pure" communism to Cambodia, and not the bloody, dictatorial, "perverted"-type communism that was put into place in the Soviet Union and elsewhere. Unfortunately, by the time he took over in Cambodia, he found that it was "necessary" to become the most murderous (per capita) dictator in history as people still seemed to want to take care of their families before they took care of his vision for them, and a bloodbath and reign of terror was the only way to squeeze out even a show of cooperation. This step-by-step progression from altruist idealism to butchery and unimaginable horror has been repeated time and time again in country after country. I submit to you who are still in a state of denial: yes, THIS is the REAL ultimate consequence, and legacy of, the preaching of self-sacrifice. "It is thus necessary that
the individual should finally come to realize that his
own ego is of no importance in comparison with the
existence of his nation; that the position of the
individual ego is condiditoned solely by the interests
of the nation as a whole ... that above all the
unity of a nation's spirit and will are worth far more
than the freedom of the spirit and will of an
individual...
Remember, pure altruism teaches that if you receive ANY benefit of ANY kind whatsoever from any action you take, that action is not and CAN NOT BE virtuous because it is not 100% purely "unselfish." Just because the benefit you receive may be only long-term, or accrue only to those people you care about, this still amounts to YOUR RECEIVING A BENEFIT, and therefore you cannot honestly claim unselfishness (acknowledging, of course, that many crooks, politicians and other con-artists readily will). Obviously the ONLY way to practice PURE altruism is to either: a) Help an evil person -- to do evil, not good -- so no real benefit ever accrues to you or anyone you care about. Or: b) Do the most dramatically helpful thing you can and commit suicide immediately afterwards -- therefore no benefits can ever accrue to you, even by accident. These are the ONLY logical choices. Duh. However, I never finally figured all this out (wasn't I ever so stupid?) until I reached the ripe old age of 12, just in time to ensure a miserable, deeply depressed, suicidal youth. Please don't EVER torment another child by teaching unselfishness like that again. Thank you.
I'm sick and tired of "one-size-fits-all" religions and child-rearing guidelines. Shy children should be taught to be more assertive, even as selfish as they can be. Otherwise they could become suicidal. I know; I speak from personal experience. And in my opinion, those who teach unselfishness to shy children are guilty of spiritual murder. It's the bullies who really need to be taught respect, both self-respect and respect and consideration for others. But out of far-sightedness, good will, and an enthusiasm for giving and receiving affection, not out of any fear of any authority anyone can see through; that's obviously going to backfire sooner or later. Usually sooner. |
"Utopians are like a rhinoceros
trying to stamp out a forest fire. All too often in its
frustration it becomes dangerous. Instead of
realizing that their schemes are flawed, they begin to see
their perfect society being frustrated by people. If
we can get rid of only those people, then the scheme would
work, they say, and the blood begins to flow." – Charley Reese
One of the favorite face-saving
myths of the altruists is that the bloody dictators of the
20th century were self-described evil men. The fact is the
vast majority of them saw themselves as benefactors of the
people who happened to believe: 1. that the group
(proletariat, master race, the fatherland, the motherland,
the state, society, the greater good, the unlimited
majority, whatever) was supreme, 2. that the group
required sacrifices from individuals, 3. that they, the
rulers, were not the mere equals of others, but rather
were uniquely empowered to choose or effect those
sacrifices, 4. that the ends justify the means, 5. that if
the means required murdering millions of people, and
destroying the lives of millions of others, so be it. Only
the moral code of altruism, which not only apologizes for,
but demands, sacrifice of individuals, makes such
things possible even in modern, so called "enlightened"
societies. Only altruism can make such things
"justified" in the minds of self-styled "intellectuals"
who never, ever seem to question whether altruism
itself is at fault, nor, indeed, whether there are
any other moral codes to serve as superior, benevolent
alternatives. "The standard view of Nazism is that the root of the Nazi atrocities was an excess of certainty and selfishness, which gave the Nazis the confidence to impose their interests by force. In reality, even a cursory examination of Nazi propaganda shows us the opposite. ... as for self-interest, the Nazis were thoroughgoing collectivists, who held that the interests of the individual must be ruthlessly sacrificed to the interests of the race. Hitler declared 'Du bist nichts, dein Volk ist alles' -- 'you are nothing, your race is everything'." -- Robert Tracinski, HERE "Fascist ethics begin ... with the acknowledgment that it is not the individual who confers a meaning upon society, but it is, instead, the existence of a human society which determines the human character of the individual. According to Fascism, a true, a great spiritual life cannot take place unless the State has risen to a position of pre-eminence in the world of man. The curtailment of liberty thus becomes justified at once, and this need of rising the State to its rightful position." -- Mario Palmieri, "The Philosophy of Fascism" 1936 "It is thus necessary
that the individual should finally come to realize that
his own ego is of no importance in comparison with the
existence of his nation; that the position of the
individual ego is conditoned solely by the interests of
the nation as a whole ... that above all the unity
of a nation's spirit and will are worth far more than
the freedom of the spirit and will of an individual...
"So many idealistic political movements for a better world have ended in mass-murdering dictatorships. Giving leaders enough power to create 'social justice' is giving them enough power to destroy all justice, all freedom, and all human dignity." -- Thomas Sowell "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." -- Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin "Throughout history, no tyrant ever rose to power except on the claim of representing `the common good.´ Napoleon `served the common good´ of France. Hitler [was] `serving the common good´ of Germany. Horrors which no man would dare consider for his own selfish sake are perpetrated with a clear conscience by altruists´ who justify themselves by -- the common good." -- Ayn Rand, HERE "We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society." -- Hillary Clinton, 1993 "Since the world began and men have killed one another, no one has committed such an idea without consoling himself with the same idea. And that idea is le bien publique, the hypothetical welfare of other people." -- Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace See: THE
MEGA-HOLOCAUST THAT ALL TOO MANY PEOPLE DENY here.
See: "The single most damaging error of the modern age is the misperception of government as an agency of compassion." HERE "Voting is no substitute for the eternal vigilance that every friend of freedom must demonstrate towards government. If our freedom is to survive, Americans must become far better informed of the dangers from Washington -- regardless of who wins the Presidency." -- James Bovard in Voting is Overrated
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"We are here on earth to do good for others. What the others are here for, I don't know." -- W. H. Auden, THE WEEK, Nov. 16, 2002, p. 19 |
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"I'm fed up with "one-size-fits-all" religions and child-rearing guidelines. Shy children should be taught to be more assertive, even as selfish as they can be. Otherwise they could become suicidal. I know; I speak from personal experience. And in my opinion, those who teach unselfishness to shy children are guilty of spiritual murder. It's the bullies who really need to be taught respect, both self-respect and respect and consideration for others. But out of far-sightedness, good will, and an enthusiasm for giving and receiving affection, not out of any fear of any authority anyone can see through; that's obviously going to backfire sooner or later. Usually sooner." -- Rick Gaber