The world is in a state of chaos. From the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor, as the small percentage of elite control the vast majority of the world's capital; to the sons and daughters that are dying, fighting a war because they have no other option; to the overheating of our planet, our only home, because of our gluttonous dependence on fossil fuels. This world is in dire need of rapid and widespread change.

Today, the biggest disease is greed. Greed is what leads us to astronomical gas prices, outsourcing to other countries that leaves many here without jobs, pollution and unethical practices all in the name of selfish profit. The global society is taking on the view of capitalism and greed as defined by Ayn Rand in Atlas Shrugged: the man's quest for the dollar leads him to better himself and search for ways to make it, thus creating competition and therefore an overall improvement in the world's quality of products and services. Rand takes Adam Smith (The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776))'s beliefs a step further, implying that greed will therefore eventually lead to utopia, because every man will work his hardest to make as much money as possible.

The fatal flaw in Rand's logic is manifested in the state of our world today. Rand's and Smith's theories make sense if corruption, imbalances of wealth, and a lack of care for anyone else are ignored. But unfortunately, these factors are very much a reality. Right now, many countries are outsourcing labor to China and IT work to India, where labor is abundant and cheap. Theoretically, everyone is happy: costs are driven down for the producers and the savings are passed on to consumers as more jobs are created in developing countries. However, this is where the inherent flaw lies: as producers continue to seek cheaper and cheaper modes of production, they will leave these countries when better opportunities present themselves elsewhere, leaving thousands without jobs, and the country perhaps in a worse state than it was in before.

Another example lies in Sierra Leone, where diamond traders care nothing about the health of the poor workers who mine these expensive resources, and people suffer from respiratory diseases and even children have their hands cut off as the price they pay for stealing. Now, there are children in Sierra Leone with missing hands dying from starvation while the capitalist whose diamond they touched just bought a yacht to go with their mansion. These inhuman practices are witnessed in many other diamond trading countries in Africa, such as the Ivory Coast, Angola, and Congo.

Also, s capitalists continue to seek ways of increasing profit, more pollution and greenhouse gases are emitted into our atmosphere, the global temperature is rising, and the world's climate is slowly changing. We are even witnessing the effects right now: excessive snow and ice storms in the Midwest while we have seen little snow here in DC as a result of El Nino, unseasonably warm waters in the Pacific Ocean. Our world is getting hotter, our air is getting unhealthier to breathe, and our oceans are becoming polluted, but the major corporations that are largely responsible for this do not have a responsibility to mankind--only to their shareholders--and continue to contribute to this problem, even in the presence of government regulations. For example, while fossil fuels have proven to be a major contributor to greenhouse gases, motor companies continue to make gas-guzzling cars. Completely electric cars were sold in California in 2003, but were mysteriously recalled in 2005 because these motor companies continued to care more about profits--and probably their friends in the oil industry--than the health and welfare of our people. Now in an effort to appease environmentalists, they are coming out with new hybrid cars--cars that still rely heavily on gas, but use some hydrogen and electricity to work.

The struggle for control of resources, territory, and ultimately, the dollar, is what leads to wars fought under the guise of "spreading democracy" and helping the destitute. America always seems to take an interest in conflicts in the Middle East, where we can make friends with the controllers of oil, while ignoring the millions starving and dying of AIDS in Africa, because many of these countries either do not have resources we have an interest in, or their resources are already being exploited.

To put it simply, complete selfishness, from this point of view, can lead to the destruction of our world. Pursuing one's own happiness and well-being is not selfish; it is, in fact, every human being's prerogative, but stepping on people to get there is selfish. Finding the balance between selfishness and a respect for humanity is what leads to utopia, while unchecked greed and selfishness in the name of one's own happiness will lead to man's eventual downfall. Paradoxically, the day man becomes completely selfish, in that he will do anything to ensure the eternal survival of his own species and planet, we may finally be able to live in harmony and peace.

by Nadine Brown