Every Man is an End in Himself

“Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.”

~Ayn Rand

I’ve read Ayn Rand’s short story, Anthem (click here to (legally) download for free from Project Gutenberg), and I thought it was really great.  I also have Atlas Shrugs on my ‘to read’ list, but I’m not too familiar with the rest of her work.  This quote, though, is very thought provoking and inspiring, so I wanted to share it.  It’s the third of four tenets of her philosophy of Objectivism.