Unlike many Conservatives of the traditional American fringe, I don't regard Ayn Rand as an ideal. The reason to this is that her "philosophy" is based upon the negative premise that we should only care about ourselves and never have to lay a hand for someone else. If one could call that a philosophy, I guess it's simply selfishness at heart.

One reason to why I and Brett Stevens are critical of both the Left and Right is that they justify negative individualism with defensive morality. The Left says we need to build a welfare State where everyone can take what they need to become equal to their neighbor--a policy that eventually breeds corruption, low self-confidence and collective greed. The Right says we can't trust any of our neighbors, so every time society needs to emphasize the public good over some individual right, it feels discriminated (never mind that it almost uncritically supports a gigantic military complex). In the end it's all about me, me, me.

Randism is a disease of the Right, because although it correctly assumes individual responsibility and self-fulfillment is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, it condemns the psychology that binds people together under shared values and goals. Evolution has shaped us so that altruism and collectivism are part of human culture. It may not immediately benefit the individual, but in the long-term it secures the interest of a tribe, community, society and even civilization. Human greatness would not be possible without the framework in which we all live.

In a world where people only see their own interests, you quickly recognize that society is shared space and cannot function without proper interaction between people. Put simply, we all need to take responsibility for our own lives, but the society in which we live will collapse unless we share common functions that secure the existence of future generations. This is why we have traditions and why religion will always be needed-- and one key reason to why feudal leadership works better long-term than liberal democracy.