I would say that Ms. Rand took the “enlightened” part out of Adam Smith’s “enlightened self-interest.” Still, she was only parroting John Locke.

Locke made liberty the predicate of justice. He developed the absurd notion of radical individualism, based on the preposterous idea that in living together in groups humans ‘surrendered’ the liberty we would ‘enjoy’ as isolated individuals.

Humans are by nature social beings who live together in groups. We do not ‘surrender’ anything in living according to our nature.

Liberty cannot be the predicate of justice. Liberty is people doing whatever they want. The whole point is that for justice to exist, human conduct must be constrained.

Locke used mutual respect to constrain liberty. Mutual respect is therefore the predicate of justice, not liberty. Mutual respect maximizes liberty as a practical matter.

We have reached the point at which the survival of civilization is clearly at stake. At this point, if we do all we can to preserve it from the effects of global warming we might be able to save it.

For any male (it would have to be a male) who thinks that he would be just fine without civilization, let me make this clear: if you are not already the baddest thug in your town, you are not cut out for a life without civilization.

To save civilization we have to base our decisions as to what can be allowed on two criteria: how necessary it is and how much it contributes to global warming. For starters, the use of air conditioning has to be absolutely minimized. Driving has to be absolutely minimized. Sustainable agriculture must be maximized.

The political process is the process of effecting choices for the community as a whole. Government is the functional core of the political process. The existential choice before us is to save civilization. (Towns, villages, etc. are dependent for their existence on the same societal construct on which cities depend for their existence.) We must employ government to that end.

To save civilization while preserving maximum liberty and political democracy we must recognize that mutual respect is the predicate of justice, not liberty. For that, see “People for Tolerance, Unite!” here in Medium.