You can still find an old Phil Donohue program series where his guest is Ayn Rand. One of the things he discusses with her is her odd condemnation of altruism.
As she explains why she believes altruism is bad, she gives her definition of the term.
Most viewers should raise their eyebrows at a definition of altruism they will find totally unfamiliar.
How does she get this so wrong?
Easy. She’s an athiest. She has constructed a view of the world that she calls “Objectivism”. Her objectivist-athiest world view, while working in many ways, leaves several loose ends and she concentrates all the loose ends in the definition of one term–altruism. Its like a company consolidating all their legal liabilities in one subsidiary and then spinning it off as a separate company. Only she doesn’t spin it off. She takes full responsibility for this one measly little term that most people will just marginalize as odd but inconsequential.
