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Eithical Theory of Ayn Rand

Written by Hal Hollis

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Eithical Theory of Ayn Rand
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Justice:

According to Rand (via Galt's speech):

"Justice is the recognition of the fact that you cannot fake the character of men as you cannot fake the character of nature, that you must judge all men as conscientiously as you judge inanimate objects, with the same respect for truth, with the same incorruptible vision, by as pure and as rational a process of identification—that every man must be judged for what he is and treated accordingly, that just as you do not pay a higher price for a rusty chunk of scrap than for a piece of shining metal, so you do not value a rotter above a hero—that your moral appraisal is the coin paying men for their virtues or vices, and this payment demands of you as scrupulous an honor as you bring to financial transactions—that to withhold your contempt from men’s vices is an act of moral counterfeiting, and to withhold your admiration from their virtues is an act of moral embezzlement—that to place any other concern higher than justice is to devaluate your moral currency and defraud the good in favor of the evil, since only the good can lose by a default of justice and only the evil can profit—and that the bottom of the pit at the end of that road, the act of moral bankruptcy, is to punish men for their virtues and reward them for their vices, that is the collapse to full depravity, the Black Mass of the worship of death, the dedication of your consciousness to the destruction of existence."

Why is it a virtue?

Smith explains:

“The basic argument for being just, then, is straightforward. Whatever ends an individual seeks, be they modest or ambitious, shortrange or long – a ticket to a concert or a tenured appointment – other people can affect his success in attaining these ends, whether deliberately or inadvertently. Another person can entangle you in his irresponsibility or alcoholism or debt; he can share his enthusiasm, his knowledge (about cars, computers, cancer, cabernets) or his talents (as a tenor, tennis coach, tax attorney, technical troubleshooter). Another person could deceive you, cheat you, enlighten you, or inspire you. Human beings carry enormous potential for impact on one another. Consequently, anyone who is sincerely committed to his own happiness must be concerned with others' probable effects on him. He must evaluate other individuals objectively and treat them in ways that serve his values, supporting those who can contribute to his life and opposing, or at he least steering clear of, those likely to do damage. If a person's goal is his own happiness, he cannot escape the need to judge other individuals and to treat them as they deserve. The alternative would be treason to his values and his happiness.”

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