Me-firsterism
Put reality first? But what about me?

One reason people object to Ayn Rand's emphasis on egoism is that they don't know the difference between serious egoism and superficial "me-firsterism." Egoism is an adult's understanding that virtue is personal, practical, and objective. Me-firsterism is a child's idea that virtue is getting the biggest scoop of ice cream.

As an egoist, I believe that the purpose of virtue is my own happiness. As a me-firster, I maintain that the essence of virtue is my happiness. Ayn Rand calls that whim worship. She says that the essence of virtue is rationality.

As an egoist at the supermarket, I reflect that my interests are best served by having orderly checkout lines. As a me-firster, I look for ways to cut in line ahead of others.

As an egoist on the freeway, I figure the best way to get home with minimum hassle is to make sure to signal what I intend, and avoid taking chances. As a me-firster, I bring traffic to a stop trying to get ahead of the guy in front of me.

As an egoist on the job, I see that my well-being depends on production, so my aim is to get the work done. As a me-firster, my first concern is pay and perks.

As an egoist in the family, I see the advantage to me of cooperation. As a me-firster, I see advantage only in domination.

In the me-first context, Ayn Rand does not seem serious, because she denies me permission to indulge my whims. She tells me to focus on reality, but I want to focus on me.

The problem is that I am part of reality. To be successful, I must have methods for success, personalized to match my unique abilities and limits. To perfect these methods, I must focus on reality. To apply these methods, I must focus on reality. To check on the efficacy of these methods, I must focus on reality. If I neglect to learn, apply, or check my own methods, in what sense am I putting myself first? Me-firsterism is a mock word for mock egoism. By using it, subjectivists would unwittingly mock themselves.

Subjectivists sometimes say, "Life consists of boredom." That's the me-first inversion: nothing can be important unless it first takes me into account. Put reality first? You can't be serious.

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