The Virtue of Selfishness

By: Ayn Rand

Narrated by: C. M. Hernert

Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Ayn Rand here sets forth the moral principles of Objectivism, the philosophy that holds human life - the life proper to a rational being - as the standard of moral values and regards altruism as incompatible with human nature, with the creative requirement of survival, and with a free society.

Ms. Rand's unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience. The fundamentals of her philosophy are set forth in this insightful piece of nonfiction.

©1961 Ayn Rand; 1961 by the Objectivist Newsletter Incorporated (P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks

Difficult, but worth it...

This is one of the most difficult and worthwhile books I've ever read (or listened to). There are a lot of mistaken notions about what Rand does or doesn't believe. Please set those aside, because many of them aren't true and others are only half-true. In order to really understand what she believes, you need to read her non-fiction. This is a good place to start because while this book is certainly complex and challenging, its topics and terminology isn't nearly as esoteric as, say, "Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology." This book really questions a lot of long-standing beliefs and notions about morality. The term "selfishness" is defined differently by Rand, so listen for that (otherwise, the book won't make sense or might seem sadistic). She also points out some of the unreasonable presumptions inherent in altruism — for example, that something can be labeled as "good" solely on the account of having been done for others. That is not a valid basis for morality. Think of the large numbers of mentally ill patients who were lobotomized in years past with the justification: "it's for their own good." Even Adolf Hitler had explained away his murder of Jews, Romani, the mentally ill, homosexuals, and various other groups with the explanation that it was for the good of others (in this case, Germany). But, was it the right thing to do? Of course not. To do FOR others is not necessarily to do GOOD for others. Conflating these two causes problems, as Rand outlines in the text. While the explanations here are sometimes impressively crisp and passionate, it does suffer from brevity. The works in this book were originally articles, so they don't provide the depth necessary to really understand everything mentioned. When an explanation seems too brief or there's an allusion to another work, that is why: these are articles, not an in-depth explanation of the intricacies of her philosophy. I found it useful to supplement this text with: "Philosophy: Who Needs It." If you really wish to understand her philosophy, stick to her non-fiction works. Without knowing her intentions, her fiction can be interpreted many different ways and so it won't really help you to understand this book or her philosophy any better. By reading her non-fiction, you'll get a direct explanation from Rand herself on what she believes. This is definitely the book I'd recommend to start with. You may need to pick up a hard copy, as well (I did and found it helpful). It is enjoyable to listen to, but sometimes the topic is too deep or complex to listen to, it must be seen and sat with for a while. It's worth the struggle, though. After reading this, I felt relieved that it was over because it was exhausting to excavate my mental landscape to such a degree. But, when I saw how it changed my life, how it rippled out and positively benefitted me, I couldn't have been happier that I took the time to read her work. I surely don't agree with everything she says (either here or in her other works). But, I respect her intelligence and strength and I find her work beneficial and thought-provoking. That, to me, is very worthwhile and as such, I'd highly recommend it to others.

Brilliant perspective that is sorely missed today.

Brilliantly read! Refreshing to hear perspectives that were widely spoken years ago but seem to be incredibly rare today. Really makes you look at things differently. Great read!

The Publisher Must Have Come Up With the Title

There was only one chapter on selfish - Rand covers a lot more, which was honest and refreshing - she had a lot of good (and original) observations. Sad that academic philosophers try to demean her by calling her a 'popular philosopher' when she thought circles around them.

Condensed Atlas Shrugged

This book reads a lot like an explanation of the logic presented in Atlas Shrugged. The lecture series was noteworthy, literally. Get a pen and paper.

How to identify bad actors

Love it. Sounds like it was written 2020. Same principles which destroyed minds, nations and inoculated entire populations in the art of intimidation today ring true in 2022 as ever. As we enter a dark age of intellect and morality despite knowledge and power at our finger tips, literally served on a crystal (ball) or screen - Ayn Rands Essays prove more important than ever. She slices the meat of socialist bs into what it is - forms of intimidation, assault and battery. Truly a master piece. Her eye for political and social behavior in the face of excess and conscious immorality is written as timelessly as the Bible.

im smarter now. yay. must read

prepares me for life, and emotional manipulators. will be reading and reviewing diligently. should of read it sooner but glad I did now.

Situations and examples from this time period are identically relevant today.

This verbalizes and defines a lot of things that think and believe but have a hard time eloquently explaining to others.

I shrugged

Very thought provoking. Better to read on paper. She is either way smarter than me, or has a hard time putting her thoughts together in a million words or less. I chose this book because I wanted to read something by Ayn. This was among the thinnest. I liked it, but I thought it was a bit pretentious. I'm sure Ayn was great fun at parties.

Tired of being accused of selfishness?

This book really gets down into the meat and potatoes of what makes the collectivist tick, their reasons for doing so, and tools to better recognize and defeat their fallacious arguments. The Corona Scamdemic has revealed a nasty truth about humanity that I thought was behind us after observing the abject failure that was the Soviet Union.

The unquestioning compliance and cowardice throughout this crisis by citizens, doctors, academia, entertainers, and government officials have left me dismayed and angry. I am now better equipped to fight the wave of stupidity that is currently engulfing the west.

An excellent overview of enlightened self-interest

The speeches and essays included here challenge the reader to maintain an objective sense of morality and argue for adherence to capitalism as a moral economic reality. I found very little to disagree with in theory here...The rub always comes when unfettered capitalists use government power and influence to their own advantage/vested interest at the immoral expense of others...