ABSTRACT
Altruism would have to be rejected as the principle that the author ought always to think and do as required by other people’s interests rather than the author's own, for instance. It is still possible that the egoist could best ensure his own well-being by tending to the needs and desires of others as much as he can, a moral insurance policy. Expropriation is different from exploitation. ‘Expropriation’ as the author uses the term indicates a taking from another whose part of the transaction is not both voluntary and uncoerced. This is not necessarily objectionable. If stolen property is seized from the thief, he has been expropriated but the expropriator did no wrong. Progressively refined formulations lie ahead, but even in this form the principle gives people something useful. Now, if national defense or emergencies do not give people a good justification for expropriating other people, consider the consequences for self-protection, surely a matter of one’s own interest.
