It sounds to me like they were describing rational egoism / objectivism. Rand described the ethics of objectivism as:

  "Man — every man — is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others.
    He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor
    sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-
    interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life."