Selfishness

Isn't capitalism founded upon the evil of selfishness.

Yes and no. Yes, you are correct in that capitalism enshrines self-interest. No, you are completely off the mark when you claim that to act in one's own benefit, that is to act selfishly, is evil.

What does it mean to be selfish?

To be selfish means to look out for one's own interests, i.e. one's own life. To eat to support your life is selfish. To make love to the woman you love is selfish. To have pride in ones accomplishments and character is selfish. To use one's mind in the pursuit of ones own happiness is selfish. By what standard can one judge these selfish things as evil? Only by an irrational one.

By what standard does one judge the good from the evil?

Man's life is the standard of value. All that supports a man's life is good, and all that destroys man's life is evil. 

Is selfishness good or evil?

If evil is that which destroys man's life -- and to look after one's self interest -- is to support one's life, then how can selfishness be rationally held to be evil? It cannot.




Suggested Reading:

• "Rational Selfishness" by Leonard Peikoff
• "The Objectivist Ethics" in Ayn Rand's The Virtue of Selfishness. 
• "Faith and Force: Destroyer's of The Modern World" in Ayn Rand's Philosophy: Who Needs It