Echter Egoismus

-Pres#9692

“The enemy initiated a daylight attack with hand grenades, one of which landed inside
their sandbagged position. Without hesitation and with complete disregard for his own
safety, Lance Corporal Carpenter moved toward the grenade in an attempt to shield his
fellow Marine from the deadly blast. When the grenade detonated, his body absorbed the
brunt of the blast, severely wounding him, but saving the life of his fellow Marine.” (1)

Would you have done the same? What’s more honorable than to lay your life down to
save your fellow man, the soldiers who, same as you, risked life and limb for something much
greater than themselves? Kyle Carpenter did so without a single doubt, a level of bravery the
average man could only dream of. This is undoubtedly true selflessness, but what is selflessness?
We would say that it’s acting not in self-interest, but the interest of others. However, there can be
no such thing. First, we can look at Kyle, he would have sacrificed his life for someone else's
interest, yet that other person's interest is also Kyle’s interest. Is it truly selfless if Kyle only did
what he wanted to do? A second example is you, the audience, have you ever done anything in
your life that wasn’t what you wanted to do? “I go to work”, “I go to the gym”, “I go to school”,
all of these things seem like they are not in your self-interest, but every time you choose to go
and do anything, the reason is always inherently something that you want. Kyle wanted to save
his friend, you may want to make money, be healthier, or get a degree. But you can never escape
what you want, as even doing the opposite of what you want is for the greater goal of you
wanting to act contrary to your intuition. In this sense we are always egoists, acting in self-
interest, yet this alone is only a small revelation, by itself, there aren’t many conclusions it can
lead to.

“Seek strength, the rest will follow” (2)

If you choose to search deeper into human nature, you’ll only find an even stronger case
for egoism. A great critique of the previous argument is: “If all actions are in self-interest, then
selflessness can’t exist. Yet selflessness exists, as we clearly can distinguish between selfish and
selfless acts.” This brings into question the definition used for selflessness, which is also the
widely accepted definition of the word. Perhaps the exploration of the following question will
make it clearer: When has anyone done something selfless for you that hasn’t brought you more
power? Through this lens of power, we can better understand the true experience of selflessness:
An action that is intended to bring power to others and little to yourself. We also know that
selflessness is considered to be a “good” thing almost universally. As we explore other things in
this label of “good” we’ll find a pattern emerging. Kindness, the quality of being friendly,
generous, and considerate, also brings power to others and little to yourself. The same with
charitableness, honesty, loyalty, and all “good” traits. What is one “good” action that doesn’t
bring power to others? So far this seems inconsequential, but if the nature of morality is to
enforce what we think is “good” and eliminate “evil”, it should be suspicious that our morality
happens to be what brings us the most power, no?
 “Men rise from one ambition to another: first they seek to secure themselves from
attack, and then they attack others.” (3)

Human society has never been equal, the few have always ruled over the many. These
few sometimes inherit their positions, but if we look at microcosms of human society, we see
people who “rise up” above others. We also see those who can’t compete with others: the
unintelligent, uncreative, and uninspired Unerwünscht (untouchables). In life’s many struggles,
some cannot face them and naturally will be eliminated. It seems to be the natural way of things
for the strong to rule, and the weak to cling to the strong. Yet in humans, we have evolved
complex societies, and instead of the weak failing they instead survive through the power of the
masses and the strong. These actions where the strong give power to the weak, and the weak
uplift each other are the reason they have been allowed to survive, it is no coincidence that the
weak think of actions that give them power as “good”, and those that give power to the strong as
“bad”. For is it not in the self-interest of those who are too weak to survive on their own, to
instead leech off of the power of the strong?

“Display obedience
While never stepping out of line
And blindly swear allegiance
Let your country control your mind” (4)

All living things seek power, but what does that power mean? It has been proposed that
power is the ability to actualize one's will onto their surroundings. This interpretation would
align with all the observations we can make of the real world. A deer seeks to keep living, to
have children, in the face of all the external forces pushing against it - it pushes back. Our
universe is a conflict of different forces that all seek to push against each other and impose
themselves. Everything fits under this label. For living things that push-back is more
complicated, and as humans, it’s infinitely more complicated than any other struggle. This
phenomenon can be described as a “will to power”, a natural law of the universe. If all things
seek to gain power, the structure of our society begins to make sense. The weak group together
to share power and elevate each other with their great numbers, while also draining the strong
that lead them of their power. However, this relationship goes both ways, as the strong likewise
use the mass of the weak to elevate their own power.

But what makes someone weak or strong? In the face of the external forces of the
universe, some humans crumble and some will thrive. Strength shows itself in those with the
nature to lead, learn, to conquer. Whilst the weak think of tomorrow's meal, the strong will
imagine a future made in their image. The fundamental difference between the two may seem to
be inherent in their traits, yet these traits alone do not necessitate strength, and curiously we have
seen instances of the weak rising up through a strength that was not their own. Human instinct
only goes so far, what separates us from animals and has caused our massive power as a species
is our intelligence. Using our rationality and thought we can construct ideas, ideas that we derive
strength from, they give our lives meaning, and push us beyond our limits. Unlike the deer that
barely pushes back against the forces of nature, we overwhelm those forces and now control
nature. These ideas are the core of our strength, even the core of our will. While the animal tries
to impose its pathetic biology onto the universe, we shape everything we see into the
manifestations of our greatest ideas. These ideas include countries, races, religions, political
ideologies, and even individual dreams that have swept up the people around them. The
difference between the weak and strong then is that the strong construct their own ideas that push
them to rise above, while the weak cannot, and thus must cling to ideas outside of themselves.

One traditional egoist position is that we ought to simply do what we want to do, if what
we all want is our self-interest due to our nature then we should appeal directly to it and ignore
the things that suppress that self-interest. The issue is that all of us have it in us to create our own
idea, one that perfectly represents us, our true selves. That true self can surpass all our biological
impulses and give us more strength than we could ever hope to get if we followed only our
whims. We all want to impose our wills onto this universe, so we ought to find our true ego
through intelligence and rationality. The ideas that we can create will drive us to push back
against the universe, those who fall in that fight for their idea will live as the weak do in a
comfortable society. Though those who can withstand the suffering that comes with the fight will
truly be their own masters, and mold reality into their own ideals.

“I have a dream. That one day every person in this nation will control
their OWN destiny. A land of the TRULY free, dammit. A nation of ACTION, not
words. Ruled by STRENGTH, not committee. Where the law changes to suit the
individual, not the other way around. Where power and justice are back where they
belong: in the hands of the people! Where every man is free to think - to act - for himself!
Fuck all these limp-dick lawyers and chicken-shit bureaucrats. Fuck this 24/7 internet
spew of trivia and celebrity bullshit. Fuck "American pride." Fuck the media! Fuck all of
it! America is diseased. Rotten to the core. There's no saving it. We need to pull it out by
the roots. Wipe the slate clean. Burn it down! And from the ashes, a new America will be
born! Evolved, but untamed! The weak will be purged, and the strongest will thrive - free
to live as they see fit, they'll make America great again!” (6)

1. Westermeyer, Paul (2019). The United States Marine Corps: The Expeditionary Force at
War. Casemate. pp. 150–151.
2. King Vendrick (2014). Dark Souls II
3. Machiavelli, Nicollo (1531). Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livios
4. Mader, Logan & Christopherson, Jamie (2013). Collective Consciousness
5. Senator Armstrong (2013). Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance