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When I see Objectivist thinking or its equally bankrupt little brother Libertarianism brought into a serious conversation I always smile inwardly.  Objectivism is based on the writings of Ayn Rand.  Objectivist doctrine can be summarized in a short sentence, which happens to be the title of this post.  Rand and others put forth the emphasis on rationality and making objective decisions but, risible ornamentation aside,  her thoughts boil down to the idea that being selfish and greedy is a good thing and the net benefits accrued from this ego festival will benefit society.

Objectivism fits nicely with the Chicago school of neoliberalism as the selfish nature of objectivist thought fits well with the trickle down theory of wealth and laissez-faire market policy in general.

Before going any further with this post there are a couple of assumptions that I will be working from that will inherently colour my conclusions.

1)      Laissez-faire capitalism is a farce.  No one actually wants a completely unregulated free market.

2)      The neoliberal economic plan put forth by Friedman and the Chicago school is an unmitigated disaster and has been thoroughly discredited.

3)      Democracy and Capitalism are mutually antagonistic systems.

I have other tenets but listing them all would only further entangle an already long post.  I just want to help establish the tone of what this piece is going to be about.  As this is an introductory piece, it would be good to get the wisdom from its source.  Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged says:

“[T]he most selfish of all things is the independent mind that recognizes no authority higher than its own and no value higher than its judgment of truth. You are asked to sacrifice your intellectual integrity, your logic, your reason, your standard of truth-in favor of becoming a prostitute whose standard is the greatest good for the greatest number.” (1957: 955-956)

Bruce Barry and Carrol Stephens in the Academy of Management Review (Volume 23, No. 1 January 1998) have taken Randian thought to task.  Their reply is as follows:

“Objectivists assume that humans can reap value and attain virtue only through the satisfaction of the self. But, of course, in genuine societies we find ourselves mutually interdependent and often motivated to assist others in order to achieve broader out- comes that serve our own individual interests.” (165)

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