Altruism's defenders declare that their ethical code has often seemed to fail-but only because its practitioners were dishonest exponents, using altruism as a cover-up. Ayn Rand disagreed. In Atlas Shrugged, she said at one point that a saint of the creed of altruism or a plain crook using it as a cover would lead to the same disastrous results. This course demonstrates Miss Rand's viewpoint-by presenting the saint.

Louis D. Brandeis, known for his work as "the people's lawyer," in private practice as on the U.S. Supreme Court, actually devoted his life to the "public interest." Every crucial life-shaping decision he made evidenced his unbreached zeal.

This course starts by presenting Brandeis's altruist-collectivist philosophy. It then demonstrates Brandeis's sincere commitment to that philosophy via examples from his personal, social and professional life. Finally, it presents and discusses the consequences Brandeis achieved in furtherance of his views. The course concretizes the broader principle that certain consequences are inherent in the logic of an idea, regardless of the motives, personality or moral character of its practitioners.