After centuries of being pounded with the doctrine that altruism is the
ultimate ideal, men have accepted it in the only way it could be accepted. By
seeking self-esteem through others. By living second-hand. And it has opened
the way for every kind of horror. It has become the dreadful form of
selfishness which a truly selfish man couldn’t have conceived. And now, to cure
a world perishing from selflessness, we’re asked to destroy the self. Listen to
what is being preached today. Look at everyone around us. You’ve wondered why
they suffer, why they seek happiness and never find it. If any man stopped and
asked himself whether he’s ever held a truly personal desire, he’d find the
answer. He’d see that all his wishes, his efforts, his dreams, his ambitions
are motivated by other men. He’s not really struggling even for material
wealth, but for the second-hander’s delusion—prestige. A stamp of approval,
not his own. He can find no joy in the struggle and no joy when he has
succeeded. He can’t say about a single thing: “This is what I wanted because I
wanted it, not because it made my neighbors gape at me.”