Though many find her views on the extreme side, Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, in my opinion, is simply geared toward the preservation of self. Whether that is the right or wrong thing to do in a political system is up for debate as we all have our own perspectives and rationales. We see the idea of self-preservation at work in our societies. Our concept of "community" is skewed. Communities work together to build something in the interest of all who live within. Well, that's the idea behind it. Yet, we all are separated by the little boxes we live in, by the intimacy of the disconnected yet distinct lives we lead, we all are propelled by self-interest to carve out a place in our world and then we try our best to keep it. Humans, by nature, have a very strong self-preservation attitude, even without Rand's philosophy having any influence. We protect what's ours fiercely- our ideas, our individual rights, our families, our property. We choose careers not because it is what's best for society but what's best for ourselves. Of course there are those who devote an entire lifetime to something greater than themselves but, at the end of the day, they still have their own bills to pay and mouths to feed. To lead a completely selfless life would mean to be completely alone; sacrifices of family and ambition must be made. Although an altruistic society is a lovely thought, I don't believe it can ever truly work unless we all, at the same exact time, give up our drive to preserve and protect our immediate material worlds as well as our own personal ideologies. The ideas of individualism, rational thought, and self-interest, I think, are just as necessary as striving to improve our societies for the greater good.