Pure Selfishness vs. Greed
I believe that question eight of the Socratic Seminar is a very intriguing and crucial question to understanding the selfishness and independence from society themes of the novel. The question discusses the difference between Keating's selfishness and Roark's selfishness. Some may argue that Keating and Roark are both the same because they both want their work to be displayed and seen by all of society, but I don't see it that way. Roark is selfishness in it's purest, most raw form. Roark simply designs for himself and his own amusement. When Keating asks him to design for his company, Roark turns down the idea several times, but will only design for Keating when Keating takes the credit instead of giving it to Roark. When Roark wants to design, it is solely for his own personal satisfaction, pleasure, and even amusement. He doesn't do it for the money or the popularity, which is the more advanced or manifested version of selfishness as exemplified by Keating. Keating is selfish as well, but more so for the fame and fortune than his own integrity as a designer. He is very cutthroat and will do anything to get ahead whether by stabbing the backs of fellow associates to rise to the top, or by sucking up to his boss. Peter Keating would rather stamp his name on designs he never created than to be recognized for the ones he does create, because he isn't confident in his architectural abilities, just his ability to manipulate people into thinking he has abilities. The money and power he eventually gains are attributed to the fact that he is willing to do anything to get it, not that he can actually do anything. Roark seems to have a more innocent selfishness than Keating and just accepts it as a part of his being. He uses it for good intentions, but this ultimately makes him more vulnerable to the ridicule of society because they don't respect him for only designing what he wants to design. I believe that the same selfishness principle can apply to any job for any person nowadays. It especially applies to politics. Some politicians have strong voices and sincerely want to change society according to what society wants. If you notice, they usually receive the most attention (good or sometimes bad) from the media. The ones that don't speak out and are just in it for themselves usually have their own agenda instead of listening to the people. It may or may not work out for them, but they don't worry about being liked by the people, just like Howard Roark never worried about being liked by his society.
