Ayn Rand

The world will change when you are ready to pronounce this oath:  I swear by my Life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for the sake of mine.

-   John Galt from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

The givers are never blessed; the more they give, the more is demanded of them; complaints, reproaches and insults are the only response they get for practicing altruism’s virtues

- Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand, to say the least, was a complicated lady.  At her funeral, a 6 ft. floral arrangement stood next to her casket - in the shape of a dollar sign!  Even in death, she knew how to stick it to her critics.  Her philosophy,  objectivism,  while mostly misunderstood, has somehow become much clearer to me.  Since my father’s death five months ago, things have happened that have caused me to question my life’s philosophy, my moral-code, if you will.  In the past, I’ve scoffed at Ayn Rand’s belief that “altruism is immoral”.  Instead, I believed that the unselfish concern for the well-being of others is the measure of a life well-lived.  That, in fact,  a love-filled life can only come through sacrificing for others, and not just for those you love.  We’re not just talking about being kind and helpful to people, but sacrificing the enjoyment of your own life to do good.  Under this code, I have sacrificed career, financial security, and a lot of leisure time.  I have been the altruist that Ayn Rand despised.

Why Care?

My mother has Alzheimer’s Disease. It is a death sentence unlike any other.  Slowly, her memory will fade.  Eventually, she will not recognize her loved ones, her body will shut down, and she will die.  The process may take years.  In just 5 months, I have seen my mother deteriorate.  She now needs help walking and bathing.  She can’t make any of her own meals or do household chores.  She is often confused about time and place and is repetitive in conversation.  Most of the time, however, I still fully see her as the vibrant, loving, and beautiful woman, I have known my entire life.  But this will not last too much longer.  My wife and I are her primary caregivers and she now lives in our home with our three children.

So what is my future?  What is the future of the millions of caregivers like me, who will see their loved ones descend into darkness?  Ayn Rand said we should only sacrifice for things that we value.  But what value can I place on a person that is losing their mind?  On a person that one day will not even know who I am, and whose behavior will only become increasingly more annoying, nonsensical and unsettling.  When the only thing I know for sure, is that no matter how much more help I give, my mother will only get worse, how much of my life should I sacrifice for her?  How much of my health, financial well-being, peace of mind, and enjoyment of family and life, should I give up for my Mom?  In the end, she will not even be able to express a modicum of gratitude.  Life is short, haven’t I already wasted too much time trying to do good?

Ayn Rand warned altruists that they would ultimately be held in contempt.  I know this to be true.  Living your life for others?  What a waste of a life.  Nobody wants to compare their daily routines to that of an altruist.  People with challenging, time-consuming careers, work hard to enjoy the holidays, houses, toys, and fun they deserve.  They don’t want any guilt directed their way, especially from those that don’t have the gumption to rationally focus their energy on creating their own happiness.  On the other hand, I know more than a few altruists that question the divine justice that bestows lives of leisure on the selfish and hardship on the unselfish.  Contempt becomes a two-way street between altruists and the rest of society.

My Mom’s Alzheimer’s Disease has forced me to come face to face with the reality that my altruism may be immoral.  Doesn’t God want us to enjoy his creation?  Why is the sense of duty for the altruist so different from the duty that others are beholden to?  The German philosopher, Immanuel Kant, believed that true goodness could only come from doing the right thing with no consideration for satisfying other desires.  That our goodwill should arise not from any good feeling we might get from being of service to others, but rather from fulfilling a duty  out of respect for an ever-reaching moral law.  Kant viewed this moral law as our knowledge of good and evil and that rational people acted in accordance to inner convictions which dictated the good they ought to do.  But altruists believe they are more aware of the moral law.

Altruism has a way of snowballing.  What begins with a few altruistic acts of kindness, can become an all-encompassing lifestyle.  The broader the sense of duty and responsibility an altruist has, the more he is willing to sacrifice.  Eventually the true altruist will take on more and more duties.  Inevitably these duties will end up completely absorbing the life of the altruist, and the altruist will lose the very things he values the most.  All of a person’s values exist on a hierarchy and eventually the hierarchy of the altruist’s values will end in complete shambles.  One only has to look at the burnout of humanitarians and caregivers to see the toll that altruism takes.

In 2007 and 2008, Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged, ranked 542 on Amazon’s online bestseller list.  However early this year, it shot up to number 33, surpassing Barack Obama’s, “Audacity of Hope”.  Why the surge in interest in the philosophy of Ayn Rand?  The fallout from the financial crisis is definitely peaking some interest, but isn’t it possible that a generation of altruist are also turning to a belief in “rational self-interest”?

A new report from the American Alzheimer’s Association, predicts that the 5 million Americans currently suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease will rise to 7.7 million by 2030 and 11-16 million by 2050.  The annual cost for caring for a person with Alzheimer’s today is a staggering $33,007.

God help us if the battle for the caregiver’s soul is won by Ayn Rand.