"CHANDRU'S" RESPONSE TO PL'S "OVERPARENTING KILLS"

I sent a copy of my post, "OVERPARENTING KILLS," to Louise Crawford's "ONLY THE BLOG KNOWS BROOKLYN" blog. She posted it, and "Chandru" had the following response, which is followed by my response to Chandru.

Chandru:

"I remember reading Ayn Rand as a teenager and being appalled at her theories, especially the one about how there ain't no such thing as altruism or doing anything un-selfishly because everything you do is ultimately selfish inasmuch as it boosts your ego (though, iirc, she didn't use that word, being of a different generation.)

Sounds like Rand has a new disciple in Marano. What a barren existence we would be confined to if we followed his (and Peter's) principles. Peter talks about "wanting to be loved" as if it's a disease. It is not. It's a natural condition of living and exists in all sentient beings.

In the meantime, can you recommend a good British boarding school for my son?"

PL:

Actually, the reason Ayn Rand didn't use the word "ego" was because she didn't mean ego. She made the point that the ultimate moral value, for each human individual, is his or her own well-being. Since that "selfishness" is serious, rational, principled concern with one's own well-being, it turns out to be a prerequisite for the attainment of the ultimate moral value and it always leads to behavior that is for the greater good of all. For this reason, Rand believes that selfishness is a virtue.
Everything in nature that is left alone by the human ego, Chandru, is in fact "selfish" in a harmonious and constructive way. Only human beings have the hubris to believe that they need to supersede and "correct" nature's "mistakes."
Finally, "wanting to be loved" is not "natural." It is typical. What is natural is to BE loving.