:: Friday, November 07, 2008 ::

In Defense of John Allison’s Moral Character 

:: Posted by DarkWaters at 4:20 PM

I respectfully disagree with Nick Provenzo’s post alleging that Mr. John Allison is guilty of giving the “sanction of the victim.” Other readers of this webblog have expressed their agreement with Nick’s post. For example, in the comments section, Ed Cline refers to John Allison’s recent press release as a “defection”. There are also several anonymous posts that are far more incendiary but are not worth deigning to address. The rest of this post is a presentation of my assessment and is not an attack on anyone else's view.*

Rest assured that I found the BB&T press release [1] to be a grave concern. The particular statement that expresses open support for the U.S. Treasury’s efforts to achieve financial stabilization is the most unsettling part. At first glance, this certainly seems unnecessary and unjust. However, Burgess Laughlin raises the valid point that it is unclear to what extent Mr. Allison, as CEO, has control over this statement compared to, say, the Board of Directors. We also presently have no idea of Mr. Allison’s motivation for releasing this statement. The fact is, there is presently an enormous amount of uncertainty surrounding this press release.

Nevertheless, if any of us who value Objectivism is to judge Mr. Allison properly, then we must consider the entire context of his actions and his public statements. First, consider Mr. Allison’s many ostensible commitments to spreading Objectivism. He:

• Gives speeches promoting Objectivist principles in business. [2]
• Oversaw that BB&T would not lend money to any commercial developers that acquired property from private citizens through eminent domain. [3]
• Responsible for financing the start and expansion of the Clemson Institute for the Study of Capitalism, where Objectivist intellectuals Dr. C. Bradley Thompson and Dr. Eric Daniels hold research positions. [4]
• Is probably one of the biggest financial supporters of both the Ayn Rand Institute and the Anthem Foundation.
• Created numerous BB&T programs to get Atlas Shrugged in particular and Objectivism in general taught in universities. For example, see [5, 6].
• Probably converted hundreds of productive businessmen into Objectivists.
• Serves as a shining example of what an individual can accomplish who lives his life and conducts his business according to Objectivism [7].
• Stuck his neck out to e-mail all of Congress with a resounding critique of the recent bailout proposal at the end of September [8] and blamed the government for the crisis two weeks ago [9].
  

In my opinion, John Allison has probably done more to effectively spread Objectivism than just about anybody sans a handful for ARI intellectuals and employees. This strongly suggests that Mr. Allison is not an individual who concedes the sanction of the victim at the slightest increase of pressure.

Second, before making our judgment, we should recognize that even Dr. Yaron Brook expresses the necessity for the short-term economic stabilization of the housing market, the banking industry and the stock market [10]. Of course, this does not say that supporting the Treasury’s efforts for financial stabilization is justified, especially since Dr. Brook goes on to suggest free market solutions to achieve this stabilization. Nevertheless, Dr. Brook’s opinion still suggests that it is not unreasonable to support some effort for stabilization.

Lastly, I wanted to address the broader issue of life and philosophy. Being an Objectivist does not mean that you refuse to file your income taxes because not doing so will result in your incarceration. Nor does being an Objectivist mandate that you actively and publicly denounce Islamic Totalitarians, as it could force you and your family to go into hiding for fear of your life. Being an Objectivist also does not require that you risk your life by defiantly standing in front of the tanks at Tiananmen Square. Simply put, it is a contradiction in terms to demand that an Objectivist choose between his life and an allegedly higher philosophic cause.

Again, this is not to say that the infamous press release is worded well or is morally justifiable. However, we must not forget that it is only moral for John Allison to take a defiant stance if it will make his own life better. It is not moral for him to martyr himself to ignite an Objectivist cultural revolt that he may not be able to enjoy.

In summary, I do not think it is fair to debate John Allison’s commitment to Objectivism. His actions prior to this press release show he has lived his life and conducted his business according to Objectivist principles. Furthermore, there is presently an enormous amount of uncertainty underlying both the motivation for releasing the press release as well as the amount of creative control Mr. Allison had over its content.

In Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, Dr. Leonard Peikoff writes:

The "sanction of the victim" means the moral man's approval of his own martyrdom, his agreement to accept--in return for his achievements--curses, robbery, and enslavement. It means a man's willingness to embrace his exploiters, to pay them ransom for his virtues, to condone and help perpetuate the ethical code which feeds off those virtues...

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