November 8, 1973
Miss Nathalie Rivard
3777 Cote des Neiges
Apartment 426
Montreal, P.Q. H3H 1V8
Canada
Dear Nathalie:
Thank you for your letter of October 22.
Your question is a very broad one, and I am not certain which aspect of it you had in mind. You ask “why mental children always have so much money spent on them when the bright ones need it much more.” If you want to know the motive of the people who practice such a policy, then the brief answer is: the morality of altruism, which makes them resent the able and intelligent people (or children).
As to a detailed discussion of altruism, I have covered its different aspects in all my works. It cannot be answered more briefly than that.
With my best wishes,
Sincerely,
Ayn Rand
AR/as
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