[CobaltBlue]

If I say that it is a simple, objective fact that if everybody followed the Golden Rule, we'd all be better off, would you bring in De Sade and baby torturers to refute me?

The difference between the Golden Rule according to Jesus and the Golden Rule according to Ayn Rand is that Christians do it out of love for their fellow man (at best) and fear of God (at worst) while Objectivists do it out of enlightened self-interest.

But it's objectively true regardless of the source. If we all lived our lives so as not to initiate force or fraud against each other, we'd all be better off.

[Aric2000]

But it's objectively true regardless of the source. If we all lived our lives so as not to initiate force or fraud against each other, we'd all be better off.


Truer words were never spoken!!

[exmarine]

If I say that it is a simple, objective fact that if everybody followed the Golden Rule, we'd all be better off, would you bring in De Sade and baby torturers to refute me?

I would agree with your statement, however, this says nothing about the foundation of moral principles. Don't you care about the source of morals? Are they invented by men or do they come from God? If they are invented by men, then logically, no man's moral values can be any more true than another man's - again, personal prefernce reigns.