The Spectator’s Devious Equivocation of Rand’s Benevolent Egoism with Nietzsche’s Predatory ‘Egoism’

Via For the New Intellectuals, I discovered an article Why do Tories love Ayn Rand? in The Spectator. From this article by Alastair Benn:

Rand promoted a cult of amoral selfishness and ruthlessness that is certainly not conservative in any traditional sense – certainly not Burkean, but quite emphatically Nietzschean.

It’s certainly true that Rand’s ethics is not conservative. The rest of the statement is not mere ignorance: That would be too generous. It is an outright lie. “Amoral”; “ruthless”; “Nietzschean”? A “cult?” Rand’s selfishness, the Objectivist Ethics, is the exact opposite, being grounded in Observable facts of reality, defended logically, and thus open to rational scrutiny--unlike religious ethics, which come at you in the form of unchallengeable commands from a being said to be above reason. Which is the cult morality, and which isn’t? Benn, and the editors at The Spectator, I’m sure, know--or should know--better. Shame on them.

Amoral and ruthless certainly applies to Nietzsche, who advocated a predatory, zero-sum concept of egoism that applies only to “the strong,” and expressed socially in the win-lose master-slave relationship. Rand’s “rational selfishness” is a benevolent egoism, applicable to all, and expressed socially in the win-win trader principle and equality of individual rights. They couldn’t be more opposite in theory or in their political implications.

It’s not a secret what these two philosophers advocated. Rand’s view is readily available in her fiction and nonfiction. Her views have been thoroughly contrasted by scholars. Check out Stephen Hicks, Egoism in Nietzsche and Rand in The journal of Ayn Rand Studies, or John Ridpath, Ayn Rand Contra Nietzsche in The Objective Standard.

As to conservatism, I would argue that their Christian ethics of altruism is ruthless and predatory. According to Christianity, need is the standard. If the world owes you simply because you need it, then who is ruthless, the Christian or the Objectivist, who believes that what you earn is morally yours, not the needy’s who wants to take it from you? Amoral? That would be altruism.

I suspect that conservatives in general don’t want to sincerely portray Rand’s concept of selfishness for fear that it would blow Judeo-Christian ethics out of the water. That fear has consequences, as it is a major reason why the allegedly pro-capitalist conservatives keep losing to the socialist Left.

Related Reading:

Ayn Rand Fear @ The New Republic

Does Evil Come From ‘Threatened Egotism’?

Books to Aid in Understanding Rational Selfishness

Gary Moore vs. Ayn Rand: Or, the Battle for America's Soul