[laredo44]

We can make all sorts of normative arguments about how we should behave, but that's not the same as establishing moral absolutes, no matter how you slice it - "useful" is not the same as "true".

There is but one moral absolute. Liberty.

[general_re]

There is but one moral absolute. Liberty.

Just don't worry about objectively proving that - instead, take it as axiomatic, and we'll be okay ;)

It all depends on your axioms, in the end. The devout Christian will tell you that hedonism is wrong because God says so. And despite a lot of noise otherwise, the objectivist answer really boils down to not much more than saying that hedonism is wrong because Rand says so. The casual reader may be excused for failing to see how the second is an objective improvement over the first...