Sobre Mises e Ayn Rand e "the pursuit of self-interest"

George Reisman (autor do tratado de economia "Capitalism" , foi amigo de Mises, Rand e Rothbard) :

"The philosophy I have expressed above is most closely identified with Ayn Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism. And in truth, she is its most consistent advocate. Nevertheless, I would like to quote a passage from another advocate of the same philosophy, namely, Ludwig von Mises, which has the special virtue of pointing out the close connection between the ethics of egoism and the teachings of economics on the subject of the harmony of self-interests. It is the single passage in all of Mises’s writings that I value most highly and which served to make me a “Misesian” for life, when I first read it over fifty years ago. It summarizes the essence of Mises’s economic theories.

Nothing is gained when the teacher of morals constructs an absolute ethic without reference to the nature of man and his life. The declamations of philosophers cannot alter the fact that life strives to live itself out, that the living being seeks pleasure and avoids pain. All one’s scruples against acknowledging this as the basic law of human actions fall away as soon as the fundamental principle of social co-operation is recognized. That everyone lives and wishes to live primarily for himself does not disturb social life but promotes it, for the higher fulfillment of the individual’s life is possible only in and through society. This is the true meaning of the doctrine that egoism is the basic law of society. – Ludwig von Mises, Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1951, p. 402.

Among the most important things that Mises showed is that the pursuit of self-interest is the foundation of the saving and investment and continuous innovation and improvement of products and methods of production that serves to raise the standard of living of all. In a country governed by the principle of the individual’s pursuit of his own happiness, the standard of living of the very poorest comes to surpass the standard of living of the very richest of a few generations back."