Money: The root of all evil?

[Doubletap]

I had a good laugh when William F. Buckley said he had to flog himself to read Atlas Shrugged.

Ayn Rand never forgave him for publishing Whitaker Chambers' review of the tome. You can read it here: Whittaker Chambers -- Big Sister is Watching You

It's perfect.

Out of a lifetime of reading, I can recall no other book in which a tone of overriding arrogance was so implacably sustained. Its shrillness is without reprieve. Its dogmatism is without appeal.

The highest tribute to Ayn Rand is that her critics must distort everything she stood for in order to attack her. She advocated reason, not force; the individual's rights to freedom of action, speech, & association; self-responsibility, NOT self-indulgence; & a live-and-let-live society in which each individual is treated as an END, not the MEANS of others' ends. How many critics would dare honestly state these ideas and say, " . . .and that's what I reject"?

 

[Doubletap]

The following is Francisco’s Money Speech, from the book Atlas Shrugged.
Keep in mind that those advocating "redistribution of wealth" are essentially looting the productive for the sake of the unproductive.

Redistrbution of wealth:
Where the state forces people to provide goods and services to others, without compensation.
This differs not at all from involntary servitude.

Absolutely.

 

[skye]

yes

money is all

 

[Avatar4321]

It's the love of money that's the root of all evil. When we recognize it for the tool it is and not as an obsession that we would do anything for, we can do much godo with it. When it's all we care about, it does produce alot of evils. Not because money is bad but because our relationship with it is.

 

[Indeependent]

I had a good laugh when William F. Buckley said he had to flog himself to read Atlas Shrugged.

Ayn Rand never forgave him for publishing Whitaker Chambers' review of the tome. You can read it here: Whittaker Chambers -- Big Sister is Watching You

It's perfect.

Out of a lifetime of reading, I can recall no other book in which a tone of overriding arrogance was so implacably sustained. Its shrillness is without reprieve. Its dogmatism is without appeal.

She advocated reason, not force; the individual's rights to freedom of action, speech, & association; self-responsibility, NOT self-indulgence; & a live-and-let-live society in which each individual is treated as an END, not the MEANS of others' ends. How many critics would dare honestly state these ideas and say, " . . .and that's what I reject"?

And none of that noble purpose comes through in her insanely inane Atlas Shrugged.
The monologues and dialogs from that piece of dribble come across as being written by a teenager suffering from autism.

 

[bripat9643]

I had a good laugh when William F. Buckley said he had to flog himself to read Atlas Shrugged.

Ayn Rand never forgave him for publishing Whitaker Chambers' review of the tome. You can read it here: Whittaker Chambers -- Big Sister is Watching You

It's perfect.

She advocated reason, not force; the individual's rights to freedom of action, speech, & association; self-responsibility, NOT self-indulgence; & a live-and-let-live society in which each individual is treated as an END, not the MEANS of others' ends. How many critics would dare honestly state these ideas and say, " . . .and that's what I reject"?

And none of that noble purpose comes through in her insanely inane Atlas Shrugged.
The monologues and dialogs from that piece of dribble come across as being written by a teenager suffering from autism.

Actually, the book is so prescient it's positively scary. There's an analog to every sleazy character in the book populating the Obama administration.

Atlas Shrugged - A How To Manual for the Obama Administration

 

[occupied]

It's the love of money that's the root of all evil. When we recognize it for the tool it is and not as an obsession that we would do anything for, we can do much godo with it. When it's all we care about, it does produce alot of evils. Not because money is bad but because our relationship with it is.

Amazing it took this many posts for someone to state the correct answer.

 

[Kosh]

Money is a tool that needs to be used in order to live in todays world.

 

[Old Rocks]

It's the love of money that's the root of all evil. When we recognize it for the tool it is and not as an obsession that we would do anything for, we can do much godo with it. When it's all we care about, it does produce alot of evils. Not because money is bad but because our relationship with it is.

Amazing it took this many posts for someone to state the correct answer.

Truly amazing. And demostrates the lack of having actually ever read the Bible with any kind of understanding.


1 Timothy 6:10
King James Version (KJV)
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Money is merely a means of exchange. However, having a great deal of that means of exchange gives one power over your fellow humans, and greed for that power corrupts a lot of people into doing very immoral things to gain that power.

 

[Old Rocks]

Ayn Rand's Ideal Man.

Romancing the Stone-Cold Killer: Ayn Rand and William Hickman | Michael Prescott

In her journal circa 1928 Rand quoted the statement, "What is good for me is right," a credo attributed to a prominent figure of the day, William Edward Hickman. Her response was enthusiastic. "The best and strongest expression of a real man's psychology I have heard," she exulted. (Quoted in Ryan, citing Journals of Ayn Rand, pp. 21-22.)

At the time, she was planning a novel that was to be titled The Little Street, the projected hero of which was named Danny Renahan.According to Rand scholar Chris Matthew Sciabarra, she deliberately modeled Renahan - intended to be her first sketch of her ideal man - after this same William Edward Hickman. Renahan, she enthuses in another journal entry, "is born with a wonderful, free, light consciousness -- [resulting from] the absolute lack of social instinct or herd feeling. He does not understand, because he has no organ for understanding, the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people ... Other people do not exist for him and he does not understand why they should." (Journals, pp. 27, 21-22; emphasis hers.)

"A wonderful, free, light consciousness" born of the utter absence of any understanding of "the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people." Obviously, Ayn Rand was most favorably impressed with Mr. Hickman. He was, at least at that stage of Rand's life, her kind of man.

So the question is, who exactly was he?

William Edward Hickman was one of the most famous men in America in 1928. But he came by his fame in a way that perhaps should have given pause to Ayn Rand before she decided that he was a "real man" worthy of enshrinement in her pantheon of fictional heroes.

You see, Hickman was a forger, an armed robber, a child kidnapper, and a multiple murderer.

 

[Old Rocks]

Romancing the Stone-Cold Killer: Ayn Rand and William Hickman | Michael Prescott

Other than that, he was probably a swell guy.

In December of 1927, Hickman, nineteen years old, showed up at a Los Angeles public school and managed to get custody of a twelve-year-old girl, Marian (sometimes Marion) Parker. He was able to convince Marian's teacher that the girl's father, a well-known banker, had been seriously injured in a car accident and that the girl had to go to the hospital immediately. The story was a lie. Hickman disappeared with Marian, and over the next few days Mr. and Mrs. Parker received a series of ransom notes. The notes were cruel and taunting and were sometimes signed "Death" or "Fate." The sum of $1,500 was demanded for the child's safe release. (Hickman needed this sum, he later claimed, because he wanted to go to Bible college!) The father raised the payment in gold certificates and delivered it to Hickman. As told by the article "Fate, Death and the Fox" in crimelibrary.com,

"At the rendezvous, Mr. Parker handed over the money to a young man who was waiting for him in a parked car. When Mr. Parker paid the ransom, he could see his daughter, Marion, sitting in the passenger seat next to the suspect. As soon as the money was exchanged, the suspect drove off with the victim still in the car. At the end of the street, Marion's corpse was dumped onto the pavement. She was dead. Her legs had been chopped off and her eyes had been wired open to appear as if she was still alive. Her internal organs had been cut out and pieces of her body were later found strewn all over the Los Angeles area."

Quite a hero, eh? One might question whether Hickman had "a wonderful, free, light consciousness," but surely he did have "no organ for understanding ... the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people."

 

[AquaAthena]

Money could be the root of all good, if you think about it.

Yes, for it is the LOVE of money, that can be the root of all evil. With money, comes power and if used wisely, can be of great noble strides and if used unwisely, power will corrupt.

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.......John Dalberg-Acton

 

[TooTall]

The following is Francisco’s Money Speech, from the book Atlas Shrugged.
Keep in mind that those advocating "redistribution of wealth" are essentially looting the productive for the sake of the unproductive.

“So you think that money is the root of all evil?” said Francisco d’Anconia. “Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

“When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor–your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money, Is this what you consider evil?

Copyright. Link Each "Copy & Paste" to It's Source. Only paste a small to medium section of the material. "Francisco's Money Speech" | Capitalism MagazineCapitalism Magazine

I always thought that the saying was "the LOVE of money is the root of all evil." but I could be wrong.

 

[TooTall]

Money could be the root of all good, if you think about it.

Yes, for it is the LOVE of money, that can be the root of all evil. With money, comes power and if used wisely, can be of great noble strides and if used unwisely, power will corrupt.

I posted before I read your post and we are on the same page. Obviously, all great minds think alike! On further edit, I read several others posted the correct saying.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

The following is Francisco’s Money Speech, from the book Atlas Shrugged.
Keep in mind that those advocating "redistribution of wealth" are essentially looting the productive for the sake of the unproductive.

“So you think that money is the root of all evil?” said Francisco d’Anconia. “Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can’t exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?

“When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor–your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money, Is this what you consider evil?

Copyright. Link Each "Copy & Paste" to It's Source. Only paste a small to medium section of the material. "Francisco's Money Speech" | Capitalism MagazineCapitalism Magazine

This is one of the most misquoted verses in Scriptures. It's not, "Money is the root of all evil." But rather, "The love of money is the root of all evil." Reason being we're supposed to love G-d. Can't serve two masters thing.

 

[bripat9643]

Romancing the Stone-Cold Killer: Ayn Rand and William Hickman | Michael Prescott

Other than that, he was probably a swell guy.

In December of 1927, Hickman, nineteen years old, showed up at a Los Angeles public school and managed to get custody of a twelve-year-old girl, Marian (sometimes Marion) Parker. He was able to convince Marian's teacher that the girl's father, a well-known banker, had been seriously injured in a car accident and that the girl had to go to the hospital immediately. The story was a lie. Hickman disappeared with Marian, and over the next few days Mr. and Mrs. Parker received a series of ransom notes. The notes were cruel and taunting and were sometimes signed "Death" or "Fate." The sum of $1,500 was demanded for the child's safe release. (Hickman needed this sum, he later claimed, because he wanted to go to Bible college!) The father raised the payment in gold certificates and delivered it to Hickman. As told by the article "Fate, Death and the Fox" in crimelibrary.com,

"At the rendezvous, Mr. Parker handed over the money to a young man who was waiting for him in a parked car. When Mr. Parker paid the ransom, he could see his daughter, Marion, sitting in the passenger seat next to the suspect. As soon as the money was exchanged, the suspect drove off with the victim still in the car. At the end of the street, Marion's corpse was dumped onto the pavement. She was dead. Her legs had been chopped off and her eyes had been wired open to appear as if she was still alive. Her internal organs had been cut out and pieces of her body were later found strewn all over the Los Angeles area."

Quite a hero, eh? One might question whether Hickman had "a wonderful, free, light consciousness," but surely he did have "no organ for understanding ... the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people."

This again? You trot this out about every 6 months, and it's just as stupid every time.

 

[Connery]

Money is not the root of all evil. Money garnered or used to succor a low self esteem and the idea that money is more than a tool used by society to gain something or impress others is an aspect of the problem.

 

[Old Rocks]

Romancing the Stone-Cold Killer: Ayn Rand and William Hickman | Michael Prescott

Other than that, he was probably a swell guy.

In December of 1927, Hickman, nineteen years old, showed up at a Los Angeles public school and managed to get custody of a twelve-year-old girl, Marian (sometimes Marion) Parker. He was able to convince Marian's teacher that the girl's father, a well-known banker, had been seriously injured in a car accident and that the girl had to go to the hospital immediately. The story was a lie. Hickman disappeared with Marian, and over the next few days Mr. and Mrs. Parker received a series of ransom notes. The notes were cruel and taunting and were sometimes signed "Death" or "Fate." The sum of $1,500 was demanded for the child's safe release. (Hickman needed this sum, he later claimed, because he wanted to go to Bible college!) The father raised the payment in gold certificates and delivered it to Hickman. As told by the article "Fate, Death and the Fox" in crimelibrary.com,

"At the rendezvous, Mr. Parker handed over the money to a young man who was waiting for him in a parked car. When Mr. Parker paid the ransom, he could see his daughter, Marion, sitting in the passenger seat next to the suspect. As soon as the money was exchanged, the suspect drove off with the victim still in the car. At the end of the street, Marion's corpse was dumped onto the pavement. She was dead. Her legs had been chopped off and her eyes had been wired open to appear as if she was still alive. Her internal organs had been cut out and pieces of her body were later found strewn all over the Los Angeles area."

Quite a hero, eh? One might question whether Hickman had "a wonderful, free, light consciousness," but surely he did have "no organ for understanding ... the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people."

This again? You trot this out about every 6 months, and it's just as stupid every time.

And still remains just as true every time.

 

[bripat9643]

Romancing the Stone-Cold Killer: Ayn Rand and William Hickman | Michael Prescott

Other than that, he was probably a swell guy.

In December of 1927, Hickman, nineteen years old, showed up at a Los Angeles public school and managed to get custody of a twelve-year-old girl, Marian (sometimes Marion) Parker. He was able to convince Marian's teacher that the girl's father, a well-known banker, had been seriously injured in a car accident and that the girl had to go to the hospital immediately. The story was a lie. Hickman disappeared with Marian, and over the next few days Mr. and Mrs. Parker received a series of ransom notes. The notes were cruel and taunting and were sometimes signed "Death" or "Fate." The sum of $1,500 was demanded for the child's safe release. (Hickman needed this sum, he later claimed, because he wanted to go to Bible college!) The father raised the payment in gold certificates and delivered it to Hickman. As told by the article "Fate, Death and the Fox" in crimelibrary.com,

"At the rendezvous, Mr. Parker handed over the money to a young man who was waiting for him in a parked car. When Mr. Parker paid the ransom, he could see his daughter, Marion, sitting in the passenger seat next to the suspect. As soon as the money was exchanged, the suspect drove off with the victim still in the car. At the end of the street, Marion's corpse was dumped onto the pavement. She was dead. Her legs had been chopped off and her eyes had been wired open to appear as if she was still alive. Her internal organs had been cut out and pieces of her body were later found strewn all over the Los Angeles area."

Quite a hero, eh? One might question whether Hickman had "a wonderful, free, light consciousness," but surely he did have "no organ for understanding ... the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people."

This again? You trot this out about every 6 months, and it's just as stupid every time.

And still remains just as true every time.

It's total horseshit and always has been.

You can read the truth here:

http://www.objectobot.com/?p=442

 

[Doubletap]

This again? You trot this out about every 6 months, and it's just as stupid every time.

And still remains just as true every time.

It's total horseshit and always has been.

You can read the truth here:

Ayn Rand admired serial killer William Hickman Myth Debunked | ObjectoBot

Nice site Bripat. Tough to convince those (Old Rocks) who choose to not think.
Here's another site worth a look at.
Objectivist Living

As for the Rand bashers:
The highest tribute to Ayn Rand is that her critics must distort everything she stood for in order to attack her. She advocated reason, not force; the individual's rights to freedom of action, speech, & association; self-responsibility, NOT self-indulgence; & a live-and-let-live society in which each individual is treated as an END, not the MEANS of others' ends. How many critics would dare honestly state these ideas and say, " . . .and that's what I reject"?