This entry is in response to Richard Kim’s article, “IMF to Haiti: Freeze Public Wages”, from The Nation magazine, in which he asks the question, “What is Haiti owed?”

The article’s title clearly articulates the fact that Richard lives under the moral code of altruism– that selflessness is the moral high ground, and that one person’s need creates a claim on another person’s life.

Now, please understand that I am not an objectivist- I don’t know enough about it to make such a claim. I do, however, agree with many of its philosophical points, the one up for discussion here being the assertion that Haiti is somehow “owed”.

Ayn Rand spent her life’s work arguing that selfishness is a virtue, and that the ultimate moral value is one’s own well-being. These, and many other ideas that spawn from the stated irreducible, are available in her book “Virtue of Selfishness”. I have yet to read the entire thing. Back to the point.

The article in question rambles on and on about injustices and embargoes imposed on Haitians, and basically boils down to this: Haiti is owed $265 million.

Why wasn’t Richard a crusader for Haiti before the earthquake? Why should American tax payers be forced to fork over $100 million to Haiti, and why should the IMF excuse their current $165 million in debt?

Because the Haitians need it. They have a need, and you have a productive body that can fulfill that need. Not only that, but it is your duty as a member of the human species to sacrifice yourself for them. So goes the altruist logic.

Now you may be thinking, “So what, then? Let them all starve while we live in plenty? How will selfishness take care of these problems?”

Note that Rand’s philosophy is that your own well-being is of primary importance.

Also take note of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. What happens when you, someone existing at the upper-echelon of the hierarchy, see the images of the suffering people of Haiti is called cognitive dissonance. You know you are doing nothing to help the people, but you also have a strong sense of empathy for the person. When someone experiences cognitive dissonance, so the theory goes, they must solve it either by creating new cognitions or altering their behavior.

Let’s compare how two people solved their dissonance. Take, first, myself. I saw a commercial during a football game advertising the Red Cross’ 90999. I do not like the Red Cross because they have very high overhead and take a lot of government money, but the commercial reminded me of the issue. I got on my computer and made a $25 donation to the Salvation Army. Dissonance solved.

How did Richard solve his dissonance? Ok, well I honestly have no idea- I do, however, know that when “liberals” think about cherity, they think of it as being weak- a “government is supposed to do that” attitude prevails. That is how many people solve their dissonance- they don’t take any action, they simply think to themselves, “I pay taxes, Obama is sending $100 million, it’s all going to be ok.”

Every dollar that any government spends necessarily comes from the productive surplus of the people who serve them. Most of avenues these funds take are either mal- or in some cases anti-productive. There are a few times the actions taken due to government funding are productive. Perhaps this is one of those cases.

Do not take this to be a tirade against helping the Haitians, I think it is an honorable thing to do.

I think they would be best helped by being encouraged to oust their despotic government.

Take a second and compare Haiti to the nearby Dominican Republic.