Why is pride a sin?

The Oxford English Dictionary has two relevant definitions for pride:

1. A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one‘s own achievements, the achievements of one’s close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired
2. The quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's importance

It seems to me that the Christian sin is the second one.

For the first form, it seems to me that pride has to be earned; it's not something that one can just feel whenever one wishes. I can see how false pride would be a bad thing, but that's really a form of arrogance.

Aristotle considered pride the greatest of all virtues. It's a big leap from there to the worst of all sins.

For me, pride is a psychological reward that we earn from living our values; from being just, honest, having integrity, and so on. Living unethically destroys the chance for pride -- so I don't understand how that goes along with pride being a sin.

Perhaps it's that in order to feel pride, one must live for themselves? Is that the aspect that's sinful?

What is "good"?

When I talk and write, I try to use words to mean very specific things. Unless I spell out potentially ambiguous meanings in advance, I find that the people I'm talking to get easily confused often.

"Good" is one such word. What does it mean for something to be "good"? For me, it means that something rationally supports my life in the long term.

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For example, eating healthy food is good. Acting honestly is good. Being just is good. More generally, acting with rational principles and virtues is good. However, acting on a whim, or simply pleasure seeking is not. For example, getting drunk or high might feel good, but it's not good in the sense I'm talking about here. In fact, feeling good isn't the same as being good.

What about helping someone? If you act voluntarily, out of charity and not a sense of guilt or duty, then that's virtuous, and is therefore good. However, if you act mainly because you feel it's the right thing to do, then you are actually hurting yourself, and it is therefore not good. Giving is good; sacrifice is not.

What about music or art? They can feed my soul, and add enjoyment to my life. That, in turn, rationally supports my life in the long term, so they can be good. The same is true for friends, family and relationships.

What about lying or cheating? You might feel good about doing such a thing. However, it is unprincipled; it does not support your life in the long term, and is therefore not good. This is a big topic, and I'm planning to post more about it later.

Deep Liberty

Schools in western democracies teach that the main way we can cause social change is by voting. What schools don't tell you is that there's more than one way to vote. Every economic action you take is another form of voting -- and those votes are probably more important than the ones you cast at the ballot box.

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For example, if you're against the war but work in the defense industry, then you are actually "voting" to continue the war through your efforts. This concept can be applied deeply in your life. The idea is that if everyone acted according to their true desires and best interests, that the world would be a much better place.

Another way to think of it is to imagine everyone in the world making the same decision as you. If everyone worked in the defense industry, would the world be a better or a worse place?

With this idea in mind, I would like to propose the concept of something that might be called "Deep Liberty": changes you can make in your everyday life that reflect the values of individualism:

• Make sure your job reflects your core values. Not just what you do on a day-to-day basis, but how the fruits of your labor are applied in society. For example, refuse to work for the government, defense contractors, transportation companies that are involved with troop movement, companies that sell products to the government or the military, etc.


• Minimize your debt, and thereby minimize interest paid to banks. If necessary, sell your house and move into a rental.


• Move some of your money into foreign currencies or stocks


• Educate your kids at home and not in government schools


• If you live in a city full of corruption, like New York, then move to someplace honest, where your tax dollars and the other fruits of your labor support a healthy system, rather than a corrupt one


• Reduce your consumption and increase your savings


• Buy gold


• Minimize your taxes within legal limits, and don't let yourself be driven by the fear of an audit (or, worse yet, feel that you need to pay "extra")


• Consider moving to a state that doesn't have a state income tax


• For stocks, favor buy-and-hold instead trading (no tax due until you sell)


• Barter for things when you can


• Be conscious of the companies you buy products from. How will they use the money you spend? Who do they buy from? Where do their profits go? (boycotting companies that advertise on Fox is an example of this)


• If you ever serve on a jury, apply individualist values to the case


• Cancel most or all of your credit cards. If you really need a card, try switching to a debit card


• Refuse to accept social security payments, unemployment compensation, food stamps and other forms of welfare


• Minimize your use of oil: get a high-mileage car, drive less, work from home, etc


• Academia is the source of many of today's "diseases" of the mind, including new flavors of socialism, distorted models of the economy, etc. When choosing a college for yourself or your child, be careful that its values reflect your values