The Selfishness Debate: Ayn Rand vs the Dalai Lama

The Selfishness Debate: Ayn Rand vs the Dalai Lama

I’m in Monaco for the 10th forum of the Convention of Independent Financial Advisors, a Swiss-based NGO that focuses on promoting an ethical and productive environment for private investment. I moderated a couple of panels on interesting topics, including the European fiscal crisis.

But I want to focus on the comments of another speaker, Monsieur Matthieu

Ricard, a French-born Buddhist monk. As you can see from his Wikipedia entry, he’s a very impressive individual. In addition to his other accomplishments, he serves as the French translator for the Dalai Lama.

During one of the dinners, we got into...