A Great Article on Ayn Rand

[Neser Boha]

Two biographies of Ayn Rand. - By Johann Hari - Slate Magazine

Ayn Rand is one of America's great mysteries. She was an amphetamine-addicted author of sub-Dan Brown potboilers, who in her spare time wrote lavish torrents of praise for serial killers and the Bernie Madoff-style embezzlers of her day. She opposed democracy on the grounds that "the masses"—her readers—were "lice" and "parasites" who scarcely deserved to live. Yet she remains one of the most popular writers in the United States, still selling 800,000 books a year from beyond the grave. She regularly tops any list of books that Americans say have most influenced them. Since the great crash of 2008, her writing has had another Benzedrine rush, as Rush Limbaugh hails her as a prophetess. With her assertions that government is "evil" and selfishness is "the only virtue," she is the patron saint of the tea-partiers and the death panel doomsters. So how did this little Russian bomb of pure immorality in a black wig become an American icon?

Poor Ayn .. or Alisa ... her entire life-story reduced to an article in a Slate magazine. Reduced it was very well though ... it affords us a very good glimpse into Rand's life and "philosophy" that gathered so many and such high-profile followers.

 

[Oddball]

Leave it to Slate to give us such a dispassionate and unbiased analysis.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Two biographies of Ayn Rand. - By Johann Hari - Slate Magazine

Ayn Rand is one of America's great mysteries. She was an amphetamine-addicted author of sub-Dan Brown potboilers, who in her spare time wrote lavish torrents of praise for serial killers and the Bernie Madoff-style embezzlers of her day. She opposed democracy on the grounds that "the masses"—her readers—were "lice" and "parasites" who scarcely deserved to live. Yet she remains one of the most popular writers in the United States, still selling 800,000 books a year from beyond the grave. She regularly tops any list of books that Americans say have most influenced them. Since the great crash of 2008, her writing has had another Benzedrine rush, as Rush Limbaugh hails her as a prophetess. With her assertions that government is "evil" and selfishness is "the only virtue," she is the patron saint of the tea-partiers and the death panel doomsters. So how did this little Russian bomb of pure immorality in a black wig become an American icon?

Poor Ayn .. or Alisa ... her entire life-story reduced to an article in a Slate magazine. Reduced it was very well though ... it affords us a very good glimpse into Rand's life and "philosophy" that gathered so many and such high-profile followers.

Many of us who know Rand's work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that "Atlas Shrugged" parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant hit.

Rand, who had come to America from Soviet Russia with striking insights into totalitarianism and the destructiveness of socialism, was already a celebrity. The left, naturally, hated her. But as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated "Atlas" as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible.

For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises -- that in most cases they themselves created -- by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.

'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years - WSJ.com

 

[Bfgrn]

Two biographies of Ayn Rand. - By Johann Hari - Slate Magazine

Ayn Rand is one of America's great mysteries. She was an amphetamine-addicted author of sub-Dan Brown potboilers, who in her spare time wrote lavish torrents of praise for serial killers and the Bernie Madoff-style embezzlers of her day. She opposed democracy on the grounds that "the masses"—her readers—were "lice" and "parasites" who scarcely deserved to live. Yet she remains one of the most popular writers in the United States, still selling 800,000 books a year from beyond the grave. She regularly tops any list of books that Americans say have most influenced them. Since the great crash of 2008, her writing has had another Benzedrine rush, as Rush Limbaugh hails her as a prophetess. With her assertions that government is "evil" and selfishness is "the only virtue," she is the patron saint of the tea-partiers and the death panel doomsters. So how did this little Russian bomb of pure immorality in a black wig become an American icon?

She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"

Poor Ayn .. or Alisa ... her entire life-story reduced to an article in a Slate magazine. Reduced it was very well though ... it affords us a very good glimpse into Rand's life and "philosophy" that gathered so many and such high-profile followers.

She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"


"We're going to crush labor as a political entity"
Grover Norquist - Republican economic guru

 

[PoliticalChic]

Two biographies of Ayn Rand. - By Johann Hari - Slate Magazine

Ayn Rand is one of America's great mysteries. She was an amphetamine-addicted author of sub-Dan Brown potboilers, who in her spare time wrote lavish torrents of praise for serial killers and the Bernie Madoff-style embezzlers of her day. She opposed democracy on the grounds that "the masses"—her readers—were "lice" and "parasites" who scarcely deserved to live. Yet she remains one of the most popular writers in the United States, still selling 800,000 books a year from beyond the grave. She regularly tops any list of books that Americans say have most influenced them. Since the great crash of 2008, her writing has had another Benzedrine rush, as Rush Limbaugh hails her as a prophetess. With her assertions that government is "evil" and selfishness is "the only virtue," she is the patron saint of the tea-partiers and the death panel doomsters. So how did this little Russian bomb of pure immorality in a black wig become an American icon?

She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"

Poor Ayn .. or Alisa ... her entire life-story reduced to an article in a Slate magazine. Reduced it was very well though ... it affords us a very good glimpse into Rand's life and "philosophy" that gathered so many and such high-profile followers.

She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"


"We're going to crush labor as a political entity"
Grover Norquist - Republican economic guru

Only an inveterate left-winger could claim being oblivious to life imitating art:

"In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as "the looters and their laws." Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the "Anti-Greed Act" to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act." Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office.

The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged": The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."

'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years - WSJ.com

 

[Bfgrn]

Two biographies of Ayn Rand. - By Johann Hari - Slate Magazine



She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"

Poor Ayn .. or Alisa ... her entire life-story reduced to an article in a Slate magazine. Reduced it was very well though ... it affords us a very good glimpse into Rand's life and "philosophy" that gathered so many and such high-profile followers.

She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"


"We're going to crush labor as a political entity"
Grover Norquist - Republican economic guru

Only an inveterate left-winger could claim being oblivious to life imitating art:

"In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as "the looters and their laws." Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the "Anti-Greed Act" to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act." Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office.

The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged": The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."

'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years - WSJ.com

STEPHEN MOORE...Club for Growth... who has diminished Republican seats in Washington due to the far right party purity mantra...along with Grover Norquist

Today's Republicans starting with Reagan and greatly accelerated under George W. Bush have taken "Government is the problem" and made it a self fulfilling prophecy... Bush castrated government except for the spending...

The Republicans have a new solution to replace We, the People of our founders...it's the model Mussolini created...the corporate foxes will write the rules for the hen house...

PC, is it possible for you to imagine what would have happened if our economy had been allowed to crash and burn? Do you consider the national security ramifications? I know you right wing me, myself and I morons NEVER consider the human carnage...DO YOU?

 

[PoliticalChic]

She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"


"We're going to crush labor as a political entity"
Grover Norquist - Republican economic guru

Only an inveterate left-winger could claim being oblivious to life imitating art:

"In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as "the looters and their laws." Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the "Anti-Greed Act" to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act." Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office.

The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged": The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."

'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years - WSJ.com

STEPHEN MOORE...Club for Growth... who has diminished Republican seats in Washington due to the far right party purity mantra...along with Grover Norquist

Today's Republicans starting with Reagan and greatly accelerated under George W. Bush have taken "Government is the problem" and made it a self fulfilling prophecy... Bush castrated government except for the spending...

The Republicans have a new solution to replace We, the People of our founders...it's the model Mussolini created...the corporate foxes will write the rules for the hen house...

PC, is it possible for you to imagine what would have happened if our economy had been allowed to crash and burn? Do you consider the national security ramifications? I know you right wing me, myself and I morons NEVER consider the human carnage...DO YOU?

Democracy.

Free market economy.

Small government.

Robust defense.

Private charity.

Did you notice how I defined my beliefs without once referring to you as a moron?

That is another distinguishing feature between us.

 

[Bfgrn]

Only an inveterate left-winger could claim being oblivious to life imitating art:

"In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as "the looters and their laws." Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the "Anti-Greed Act" to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that?

These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act." Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office.

The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged": The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."

'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years - WSJ.com

STEPHEN MOORE...Club for Growth... who has diminished Republican seats in Washington due to the far right party purity mantra...along with Grover Norquist

Today's Republicans starting with Reagan and greatly accelerated under George W. Bush have taken "Government is the problem" and made it a self fulfilling prophecy... Bush castrated government except for the spending...

The Republicans have a new solution to replace We, the People of our founders...it's the model Mussolini created...the corporate foxes will write the rules for the hen house...

PC, is it possible for you to imagine what would have happened if our economy had been allowed to crash and burn? Do you consider the national security ramifications? I know you right wing me, myself and I morons NEVER consider the human carnage...DO YOU?

Democracy...mob rule was less attractive to our founders than the right of kings..

Free market economy...we don't have free markets and the people you support don't want them...they are rigged markets through subsidies (corporate welfare)

Small government...we need effective government... we see the wrath of castration...

Robust defense...antithesis to small government

Private charity... total me, myself and I cop out... better find the most secure gated community PC...total chaos leads to violence and lawlessness

Did you notice how I defined my beliefs without once referring to you as a moron? Got me there moron...

That is another distinguishing feature between us...No, I'm innately intelligent and you are programmed...

"The legitimate object of Government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for themselves in their separate and individual capacities. But in all that people can individually do as well for themselves, Government ought not to interfere."
President Abraham Lincoln

 

[PoliticalChic]

STEPHEN MOORE...Club for Growth... who has diminished Republican seats in Washington due to the far right party purity mantra...along with Grover Norquist

Today's Republicans starting with Reagan and greatly accelerated under George W. Bush have taken "Government is the problem" and made it a self fulfilling prophecy... Bush castrated government except for the spending...

The Republicans have a new solution to replace We, the People of our founders...it's the model Mussolini created...the corporate foxes will write the rules for the hen house...

PC, is it possible for you to imagine what would have happened if our economy had been allowed to crash and burn? Do you consider the national security ramifications? I know you right wing me, myself and I morons NEVER consider the human carnage...DO YOU?

Democracy...mob rule was less attractive to our founders than the right of kings..

Free market economy...we don't have free markets and the people you support don't want them...they are rigged markets through subsidies (corporate welfare)

Small government...we need effective government... we see the wrath of castration...

Robust defense...antithesis to small government

Private charity... total me, myself and I cop out... better find the most secure gated community PC...total chaos leads to violence and lawlessness

Did you notice how I defined my beliefs without once referring to you as a moron? Got me there moron...

That is another distinguishing feature between us...No, I'm innately intelligent and you are programmed...

"The legitimate object of Government is to do for a community of people whatever they need to have done but cannot do at all, or cannot so well do, for themselves in their separate and individual capacities. But in all that people can individually do as well for themselves, Government ought not to interfere."
President Abraham Lincoln

I love it when you expose yourself as the smug, non-intellectual boor that you are.


Surely you don't think your verbosity is a response.

Since you have proven to be less than intelligent, and love nothing better than throwing words and hoping that it appears cogent, and will continue such ad infinitum, it appears that terminal lonliness is your raison d'etra.

So sad.

 

[midcan5]

Rand's appeal is to an acceptance and tolerance for what is and an excuse for what is. If you assume or believe that your place in life was all of your making, then you must figure the other person's place is of their making. Curiously the people who believe this often have less than the people who find it to be hooey. Luck matters, as well birth class etc. Can one imagine a poor person reading Ayn, watching their parents work each day, and then saying if only they worked harder or some such BS. Rand serves as the bible of the selfish and self centered, she is excellent in that role. PS Her writing sucks too, but that is my literary opinion. lol

'Ayn Rand and the Invincible Cult of Selfishness on the American Right'

'Wealthcare' By Jonathan Chait

"The current era of Democratic governance has provoked a florid response on the right, ranging from the prosaic (routine denunciations of big spending and debt) to the overheated (fears of socialism) to the lunatic (the belief that Democrats plan to put the elderly to death). Amid this cacophony of rage and dread, there has emerged one anxiety that is an actual idea, and not a mere slogan or factual misapprehension. The idea is that the United States is divided into two classes--the hard-working productive elite, and the indolent masses leeching off their labor by means of confiscatory taxes and transfer programs."

Wealthcare | The New Republic


"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." John Kenneth Galbraith

 

[geauxtohell]

I was going to post this, but Neser beat me to the punch. Obviously, the article is from Slate so it surely is biased to a degree. However, that doesn't mean it's total bunk.

I realize that many people subscribe to Rand's philosophy. I personally find it to be ridiculous for the reason that was outlined in the article:

In a country where almost everyone believes—wrongly, on the whole—that they are self-made, perhaps it is easier to have contempt for people who didn't make much of themselves. And Rand taps into something deeper still. The founding myth of America is that the nation was built out of nothing, using only reason and willpower. Rand applies this myth to the individual American: You made yourself. You need nobody and nothing except your reason to rise and dominate. You can be America, in one body, in one mind.

America didn't spring forth de novo and our society, from which Rand's protagonists like Roark, believe they should be allowed to operate in a completely unfettered manner was created and secured by men and women who acted in a selfless, collectivist manner. People are enabled to make their fortunes in this country, because somebody carries a rifle, or walks the beat, or puts out fire, to give them that opportunity. These people are not mere chattle for the Rand's Ubermensch to trod on as they move up Maslow's hierarchy.

On a literary note, I personally find Rand hard to read and don't think she is a good writer. Her characters are static and the themes come across with the tone and tenor of bible versus as opposed to challenging the reader to consider her point of view.

 

[PoliticalChic]

I was going to post this, but Neser beat me to the punch. Obviously, the article is from Slate so it surely is biased to a degree. However, that doesn't mean it's total bunk.

I realize that many people subscribe to Rand's philosophy. I personally find it to be ridiculous for the reason that was outlined in the article:

In a country where almost everyone believes—wrongly, on the whole—that they are self-made, perhaps it is easier to have contempt for people who didn't make much of themselves. And Rand taps into something deeper still. The founding myth of America is that the nation was built out of nothing, using only reason and willpower. Rand applies this myth to the individual American: You made yourself. You need nobody and nothing except your reason to rise and dominate. You can be America, in one body, in one mind.

America didn't spring forth de novo and our society, from which Rand's protagonists like Roark, believe they should be allowed to operate in a completely unfettered manner was created and secured by men and women who acted in a selfless, collectivist manner. People are enabled to make their fortunes in this country, because somebody carries a rifle, or walks the beat, or puts out fire, to give them that opportunity. These people are not mere chattle for the Rand's Ubermensch to trod on as they move up Maslow's hierarchy.

On a literary note, I personally find Rand hard to read and don't think she is a good writer. Her characters are static and the themes come across with the tone and tenor of bible versus as opposed to challenging the reader to consider her point of view.

A government school grad, no doubt.

Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, often referred to as Turgot (10 May 1727 – 18 March 1781), was a French economist and statesman. Today he is best remembered as an early advocate for economic liberalism. In a 1778 letter, he described America as “the hope of mankind” because it “must show the world by example, that men can be free and tranquil, and can do without the chains that tyrants and cheats of all garb have tried to lay on them…It must give the example of political, religious, commercial and industrial liberty. The shelter which it is going to offer to the oppressed of all nations will console the earth.”

Let me bold one particular line from Levy, in direct reponse to your post:

The French Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy noted in a 2006 interview with the WSJ: “In France, with the nation based on roots, on the idea of the soil, of a common memory…the very existence of America is a mystery and a scandal…The ghost that has haunted Europe for two centuries is America’s coming together as an act of will, of creed. It shows that there is an alternative to organic nations.” [A society that took shape through conscious decisions and willful sculpting by its various founders and builders. –Medved]


And here is a response re: self-made folks:

“In most countries in the world your fate and your identity are handed to you; in America, you determine them for yourself. America is a country where you get to writh the script of your own life. Your life is like a blank sheet of paper, and you are the artist. This notion of being the architect of your own destiny is the incredibly powerful idea that is behind the worldwide appeal of America.” Dinesh D’Souza, born in India.

I imagine you are unaware that 97% of the millionaires in America did not inherit their money.

Wise up.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Rand's appeal is to an acceptance and tolerance for what is and an excuse for what is. If you assume or believe that your place in life was all of your making, then you must figure the other person's place is of their making. Curiously the people who believe this often have less than the people who find it to be hooey. Luck matters, as well birth class etc. Can one imagine a poor person reading Ayn, watching their parents work each day, and then saying if only they worked harder or some such BS. Rand serves as the bible of the selfish and self centered, she is excellent in that role. PS Her writing sucks too, but that is my literary opinion. lol

'Ayn Rand and the Invincible Cult of Selfishness on the American Right'

'Wealthcare' By Jonathan Chait

"The current era of Democratic governance has provoked a florid response on the right, ranging from the prosaic (routine denunciations of big spending and debt) to the overheated (fears of socialism) to the lunatic (the belief that Democrats plan to put the elderly to death). Amid this cacophony of rage and dread, there has emerged one anxiety that is an actual idea, and not a mere slogan or factual misapprehension. The idea is that the United States is divided into two classes--the hard-working productive elite, and the indolent masses leeching off their labor by means of confiscatory taxes and transfer programs."

Wealthcare | The New Republic


"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." John Kenneth Galbraith

So many of you folks on the left carry on about social class and luck, but the evidence is simply that it is easier to whine and ask for the government to take from someone else to give you some more, then to honor those entrepeneurs who risk time and treasure.

The harder I work, the luckier I get.
Samuel Goldwyn

 

[geauxtohell]

A government school grad, no doubt.

That depends on if you are talking about High School, College, or Medical School.

Where did you obtain your education?

Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, often referred to as Turgot (10 May 1727 – 18 March 1781), was a French economist and statesman. Today he is best remembered as an early advocate for economic liberalism. In a 1778 letter, he described America as “the hope of mankind” because it “must show the world by example, that men can be free and tranquil, and can do without the chains that tyrants and cheats of all garb have tried to lay on them…It must give the example of political, religious, commercial and industrial liberty. The shelter which it is going to offer to the oppressed of all nations will console the earth.”

Let me bold one particular line from Levy, in direct reponse to your post:

The French Philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy noted in a 2006 interview with the WSJ: “In France, with the nation based on roots, on the idea of the soil, of a common memory…the very existence of America is a mystery and a scandal…The ghost that has haunted Europe for two centuries is America’s coming together as an act of will, of creed. It shows that there is an alternative to organic nations.” [A society that took shape through conscious decisions and willful sculpting by its various founders and builders. –Medved]


And here is a response re: self-made folks:

“In most countries in the world your fate and your identity are handed to you; in America, you determine them for yourself. America is a country where you get to writh the script of your own life. Your life is like a blank sheet of paper, and you are the artist. This notion of being the architect of your own destiny is the incredibly powerful idea that is behind the worldwide appeal of America.” Dinesh D’Souza, born in India.

I don't really disagree with any of the above sentiments (though I destest D'Souza). None of them were made by Rand and are much more reasoned and logical than Rand's position.

All the above still ignores my point, and the basic flaw of Rand's line of thinking: our society, which allows man to prosper is secured by the selfless act of other people who are not motivated by money or self interest. If no one is around to keep the barbarians out of the gates, no single man is free to be selfish.

Ask the Romans.

I imagine you are unaware that 97% of the millionaires in America did not inherit their money.

Where did I ever indicate that inheritance had anything to do with any of this?

Wise up.

You too, and do try to stay on topic. Perhaps they didn't teach you that at your non-government school.

Or do you just obtain your education through Neil Boortz talking points?

 

[Oddball]

In a country where almost everyone believes—wrongly, on the whole—that they are self-made, perhaps it is easier to have contempt for people who didn't make much of themselves. And Rand taps into something deeper still. The founding myth of America is that the nation was built out of nothing, using only reason and willpower. Rand applies this myth to the individual American: You made yourself. You need nobody and nothing except your reason to rise and dominate. You can be America, in one body, in one mind.

We're all self-made men and women.

It's only the successful ones who will admit it.

 

[geauxtohell]

We're all self-made men and women.

It's only the successful ones who will admit it.

I enjoyed that quote when you had it on your siggie.

As it relates to me, I put myself through college and am putting myself through graduate school. I have never asked for a "hand out".

However, I recognize that a society that puts "selfishness" as it's main virtue is destined to fail.

There is not enough compensation in the world to pay people who risk their lives to provide security to others.

 

[Liability]

* * * *

She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"

* * * *

A sentiment that is not now and never was one validly attributed to "the right."

Bigfuckingrin gets today's dishonest post of the morning award nomination!

Bfgrn, what a douche.

 

[sitarro]

I was going to post this, but Neser beat me to the punch. Obviously, the article is from Slate so it surely is biased to a degree. However, that doesn't mean it's total bunk.

I realize that many people subscribe to Rand's philosophy. I personally find it to be ridiculous for the reason that was outlined in the article:

In a country where almost everyone believes—wrongly, on the whole—that they are self-made, perhaps it is easier to have contempt for people who didn't make much of themselves. And Rand taps into something deeper still. The founding myth of America is that the nation was built out of nothing, using only reason and willpower. Rand applies this myth to the individual American: You made yourself. You need nobody and nothing except your reason to rise and dominate. You can be America, in one body, in one mind.

America didn't spring forth de novo and our society, from which Rand's protagonists like Roark, believe they should be allowed to operate in a completely unfettered manner was created and secured by men and women who acted in a selfless, collectivist manner. People are enabled to make their fortunes in this country, because somebody carries a rifle, or walks the beat, or puts out fire, to give them that opportunity. These people are not mere chattle for the Rand's Ubermensch to trod on as they move up Maslow's hierarchy.

On a literary note, I personally find Rand hard to read and don't think she is a good writer. Her characters are static and the themes come across with the tone and tenor of bible versus as opposed to challenging the reader to consider her point of view.

The author of the Slate joke and you don't have any understanding what so ever of Rand's writing, your post and that imbecile's "article" prove it.

 

[sitarro]

Two biographies of Ayn Rand. - By Johann Hari - Slate Magazine

Ayn Rand is one of America's great mysteries. She was an amphetamine-addicted author of sub-Dan Brown potboilers, who in her spare time wrote lavish torrents of praise for serial killers and the Bernie Madoff-style embezzlers of her day. She opposed democracy on the grounds that "the masses"—her readers—were "lice" and "parasites" who scarcely deserved to live. Yet she remains one of the most popular writers in the United States, still selling 800,000 books a year from beyond the grave. She regularly tops any list of books that Americans say have most influenced them. Since the great crash of 2008, her writing has had another Benzedrine rush, as Rush Limbaugh hails her as a prophetess. With her assertions that government is "evil" and selfishness is "the only virtue," she is the patron saint of the tea-partiers and the death panel doomsters. So how did this little Russian bomb of pure immorality in a black wig become an American icon?

Poor Ayn .. or Alisa ... her entire life-story reduced to an article in a Slate magazine. Reduced it was very well though ... it affords us a very good glimpse into Rand's life and "philosophy" that gathered so many and such high-profile followers.

What a load of bullshit, why am I not surprised in the least that the neosocialist of the board buy into it?

 

[geauxtohell]

* * * *

She cements the right's "we, the people are not worthy, let the oligarchy commence"

* * * *

A sentiment that is not now and never was one validly attributed to "the right."

Bigfuckingrin gets today's dishonest post of them morning award nomination!

Bfgrn, what a douche.

I agree that the right doesn't ubiquitously embrace Rand's philosophy. I thought it was disingenuous of Slate to state that.

That doesn't mean we can't discuss Rand's screwy logic on this matter. My problem with Rand is that, like the bible, people selectively adhere to some of her principles without embracing the whole thing.

If everyone is only motivated by pure self interest, society breaks down. It's another term for anarchy.