Ayn Rand, Life and Soldiering

According to the ethical philosophy of Ayn Rand, it is wrong to sacrifice oneself for others.

In this video, Paul McKeever answers a question put to him in an e-mail from a viewer: "Is it wrong to be a soldier or a police officer?"

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Ayn
• Rand
• Objectivism
• sacrifice
• defence

[eventide925]

I am a Vet, I believe that the point you are making is that we fight due to enlightened self interest?

[PaulMcKeever]

Moral soldiers do, yes.

[ZardexM]

I respect the philosophy and agree that it may contribute to wellbeing in the USA.

But it's naive to think that USA is successful because of this philosophy and that Europe would be less successful because of mysticism while USA clearly suffers more Mysticism then Europe.

Have you even been to Europe to be able to compare it to America?

I've lived on both sides, and I would never claim that Americans are better off, or that they adhere more to Philosophy like that of Ayn Rand.

[jnycnuk]

you have got to be kidding. the wealthy do not go to war and neither do their children. it is the working class and the poor that do the fighting. the rest sit back and continue to get richer from their investments because war creates more wealth for those in and near the boardrooms.

[vinnynumbnuts]

one problem i have with rand's "emergencies" is that she only agrees it's a duty to save some person from the "immediate" perilous situations, such as a fire or flood; but certainly there are perilous situations, such as a man who is hit with a disease & has a month or so to live & absolutely has no money to pay for an operation that would save his life. isn't the unforeseen disease that suddenly manifests itself an emergency situation that's still urgent, even though the time line is longer?

[vinnynumbnuts]

ever had the thought in the back of your mind that some oncoming cars might be noticing a lone guy in his car talking to himself? ha ha, but like your videos all the same!

[marsig11]

I'm sorry, but your reasoning is based on no better than the same "mysticism" that you criticize, because it is frequently contradictory and based on a myriad of tenuous assumptions that are easily falsified. Don't criticize people as irrational when you are in the course of thoroughly pointing yourself out as one of the same.

[OUexclusive]

It's very arguable that enlisting in the military is the equivalent to suspending one's ability to live as a human being. He gives up the right to decide, and furthermore, he's at the forefront of making OTHERS live as farm-animals, which is what US foreign policy is truly about. Propping up dictators and maintaining an empire under the threat of force.

"To protect us." Bull-shit. Read more history.

[356pla]

@freezzertime Let me answer that.  No.

[panterguy]

@maiasaura08 He has to do them in his car. His mother wont let him do them in the house.

[maiasaura08]

Please don't do a film while driving! People get distracted and other people die.  I'm not saying you'll have a wreck, but you are setting a very bad example for foolish people.

[ImYourDrillerMan]

So, you do support military altruism. So much for your consistency.

[proudfootz]

@obmax1212

The people who were robbed of their property certainly did resist the murderers and theives who came to these shores.

So it seems they did recognize 'the concept of property' even if the Europeans didn't...

[obmax1212]

Why isn't it okay for someone to send their child to a better school if they can afford it? We should all be subjected to miserable schooling because you don't like the fact that some people are wealthier than others?