Grim's Hall

Against Rand:

Cassandra is quoting Rand at length.

"But money demands of you the highest virtues, if you wish to make it or to keep it. Men who have no courage, pride or self-esteem, men who have no moral sense of their right to their money and are not willing to defend it as they defend their life, men who apologize for being rich--will not remain rich for long. They are the natural bait for the swarms of looters that stay under rocks for centuries, but come crawling out at the first smell of a man who begs to be forgiven for the guilt of owning wealth. They will hasten to relieve him of the guilt--and of his life, as he deserves.

Rand is wrong precisely here:

"But money demands of you the highest virtues, if you wish to make it or to keep it. Men who have no courage, pride or self-esteem, men who have no moral sense of their right to their money and are not willing to defend it as they defend their life..."

Money does demand virtue, and perhaps even the highest virtues: but not these. What it demands are self-sacrifice, so that you are willing to work fifteen hours a day to support a family if you must; honor in keeping promises, so that no matter how hard the job, if you give your word men know will achieve it; and being willing to bear the weight of others, so that people come to be willing to trust their weight to you.

A man who does that consistently will never lack for money long. Courage is a virtue, certainly; pride is quite often a sin; and at this point in our society's history, 'self esteem' is absolutely a sin.

These higher virtues of self-sacrifice are the true root of wealth. Those are just what Rand warns against in her work, but they are the real thing. There is plenty of money in the world: those who have it are only too eager to find good stewards, trustworthy employees, and hard workers to help them with their enterprises. When you have enough of your own, you may be the one looking for good stewards and trustworthy men. Think what you would want in an employee, and you will know how to ensure that you have work.

What is more, with those same qualities a man can find love to go with his money. Pride and 'self-esteem' will not alone bring love to him. These things will.

Then you have a reason to want money. A man without love will throw it away as fast as his hands lay on it, seeking pleasure and having no care for it. A man without love might prefer the gun to the dollar, honestly. But the man with love will want stability and safety for the people he loves, and he will work to build it. In working faithfully, he will gain the name for honor and honesty that will ensure his success. He will leave an example to his children, and a place for them.

If he fights, he will fight for those reasons. It will not be because you come to take his money. It will be because you seek to undermine his ability to defend what he loves against the storms of the world. In that cause, you will find in him a terrible foe.