Ayn Rand argued that “selfish” is the correct designation for a person living according to the Objectivist ethics and that selfishness is a virtue. The accuracy of this claim is examined along with the meaning of “selfish,” the wider implications for the Objectivist ethics, and ethics in general. Alternatives to the term are suggested.

The advent of the equality of capability theory, as developed by Amartya Sen, has brought about the radicalization of the conventional theories of social justice and development. Sen’s remarkable contribution in the field of developmental theories has paved the way for the reconfiguration and development of normative economics and political philosophy. With his insistence on humanizing development and focusing on the actual freedom of the person as the main criteria for development, Sen’s capability approach will be utilized as the moral (...) framework in assessing the government’s response measures to fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The global pandemic poses an immediate threat to both the poorest of the poor communities and to the health care sectors of society. Consequently, any response measure that the government should take must be directed towards sustaining both the socio-economic and healthcare objectives. It must help in enabling poor communities to sustain themselves during the entire pandemic; more so, it must likewise capacitate and strengthen the healthcare system in order to provide better services to the infected and to protect its healthcare front-liners. The crucial question of equality of capability among the poor and the front-liners will be examined by the paper using the capability approach theory in the context of the global pandemic. (shrink)