7.3 Three Defenses of Ethical Egoism.

Before we get to the reasons that might be offered in defense of selfishness, we should be clear on where this view leads us. Even more so than Psychological Egoism, Ethical Egoism would give us a license to act selfishly. So, for example, even though people in rich countries could very easily save the lives and end the misery of millions of people in poor countries just by sending a little extra cash to charitable organizations and not spending it on needless luxuries, relatively few people actually do this. According to Ethical Egoism, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. If you want to send your money to people less well-off, that is your right. But it is certainly not your duty to do so. This may sound cold, and perhaps it is. But philosophers only care about whether it is a rationally defensible position. If it is, then we will just have to learn to live with the implications.

OK, so what reasons might be given to support the idea that we not only have no real duties towards others, but that we can and even should always put ourselves first? There are three main arguments to consider here, which we’ll call “Rand’s argument,” “The capitalists’ argument,” and “The revisionist argument.”