Would Ayn Rand Tip?

I've been reading Atlas Shrugged right on the heels of finishing The Fountainhead, which is an amazing book that really reaffirmed a lot of things I think I always thought about life but didn't know it. (if that makes sense) And being so shaken by it I quickly picked up Atlas Shrugged, well slowly; its a pretty hefty book rounding out at about 1400 pages. However I'm not as impressed with it as I was with the Fountainhead. Atlas is much more about politics then it is about philosophy. Of course politics is a form of philosophy, but it isn't the same and I think it cheapens whatever was so powerful about The Fountainhead. But that's a tangent I don't want to go on, mostly because I've still got about 300 pages left to read and I don't want to condemn the book just yet. But I do have some thoughts after burning a thousand pages so far.

Would Ayn Rand tip? I thought about this the other day as I wrote down a small tip on my credit card receipt and thought briefly about what it meant. Rand stresses the notion that it is important to never give anything. Everything must be exchanged for compensation. And yes, a tip is in gratitude for service, but isn't the waitress getting a pay check? I'm not paying her directly for her service, that's what the business does. And some say that it is expected for you to tip because the waitress doesn't make enough money to live on her check alone. But why is that my responsibility. I'm already paying the owner money for the food and service why do I need to give this waitress anymore?

Now before I look like a dick I want to say, I do tip. I think its important because waiters and waitresses do get paid shit for the most part and rely on their tips for a lot of things. Which is sad, because its almost got to the point some places where waitresses literally don't make minimum wage and instead get a tip share that makes up the rest; putting the burden of half of their check on us. But even in a perfect world its right to tip and that is exactly my point which leads me to my main issue with Ayn Rand's philosophy on this level.

Last night I spent an amazing evening with some friends, two I have known for years and two that I had just met that evening. We went to the new people's house and I experienced some of the best hospitality I have ever experienced. They made us food, showed us their art, listened to things that mattered to us (and where actually interested) and played a game of cards with us. I left with such an amazing feeling, that I haven't felt in a long time. And it struck me that whatever is at the heart of that feeling is what Rand is missing. We could live in a society where everything is exchanged for value and perhaps things would proceed more smoothly, however I think there is value in giving. There is selfishness in selflessness. And one step further, there is no such thing as selflessness.

Rand seems to advocate a cold world where the only human interaction is the exchange of money (and lots and lots of sex, which no one seems to pay for ironically). Sure she talks about other forms of value, often in cryptic passages that probably lead to her books being mammoth. But she makes no bones about the fact that their must be an exchange and paints those who don't engage in that as "looters" or "second raters". Well I will argue that she is wrong based on the fact that we can't help being selfish. If someone is looting from you or not fulfilling their potential its because thats what they want to do, maybe not consciously and maybe at the manipulation of someone else but there is a choice that has to be made there and they are doing the choosing.

So, we've selfishly decided that its right to tip, and that its right to give food to your company because we are exchanging something of value, good company. And perhaps that's what Rand's trying to say but I feel like it gets clouded by the hard economic stance she takes in Atlas.

Again, I haven't read Atlas Shrugged all the way through yet, so there is a good chance she'll still surprise me, I'll let you know.