“Sacrifice” is the surrender of a greater value for the sake of a lesser one or
of a nonvalue. Thus, altruism gauges a man’s virtue by the degree to which he
surrenders, renounces or betrays his values (since help to a stranger or an
enemy is regarded as more virtuous, less “selfish,” than help to those one
loves). The rational principle of conduct is the exact opposite: always act in
accordance with the hierarchy of your values, and never sacrifice a greater
value to a lesser one.
This applies to all choices, including one’s actions toward other men. It
requires that one possess a defined hierarchy of rational values (values
chosen and validated by a rational standard). Without such a hierarchy, neither
rational conduct nor considered value judgments nor moral choices are possible.