A “Responsibility”

A “Responsibility”

As an educated individual, I have grew up with the notion that the act of altruism is to be honored and if given chances, I should be altruistic to others – just as how I hope others to treat me in times of difficulty. If according to the central idea to Ayn Rand’s arguments regarding the conflict between protecting one’s own self-interests and dealing with the demands of a social system that encourages or sometimes forces altruistic behavior, I would be called “selfish” because the system has changed the value of altruism in both the self and the political system.

Ayn Rand argues that the demand of a social system that encourages or sometimes forces altruistic behavior has created a conflict with the protection of one’s own self-interests. Even my belief of altruism in the introduction is out of good intention; the society cannot disagree with me more because the society has built a whole different definition for “selfishness” to define my way of thinking: “a synonym of evil; the image it conjures is a murderous brute who tramples over piles of corpses to achieve his own ends, who cares for no living being pursues and pursues nothing but the gratification of the mindless whims of any immediate moment” (Why Selfishness, 80). Because I am only going to altruistic to others if given chances, I am placing myself and my rights above the whole. However, the ethics of altruism has degraded the value of “self” as evil and brute. An example would be helping someone write his or her essay while having one’s own essay to write also. If I choose to refuse to help the person with his or her essay because I place my essay above his or her in the level of importance and by doing that protects my own self interest, I am an immoral person no difference from a person who robs a bank. The act is considered immoral by society standard because it does not benefit others. It is exactly the norm of moral value in this system that has “proved” me selfishness...