In our youth, many swear by Objectivism but what changes as we age? Why have so many leaders been impressed by Rand but always fail to apply her philosophies? Why is she so revered by college kids but then dropped by so many aging adults?
The realization that she was a wonderful critic and observer, but didn't have any ideas as to how to displace regulatory government.
Greenspan has a Platonic epistemology, he divides theory from reality.
Rush talks about it often. He recently said that in many ways, people never mature beyond high school and that most people reach a point in their lives where they settle and the social fabric begins to mirror one that you might find in high school. That is, the problem is that people simply want to be liked and often compromise themselves in the hopes of being liked and being part of the club.
If you’re the decision-maker and an enterprise hinges by your decision and it alone, logical and rational choices are tough decisions, but easier to make than if you’re part of a decision-making process that requires input from a group. Now the illogical and irrational enters into the equation and you have to either persuade people to your way of thinking with logic and arguments (tougher still) or compromise the decision-making so that everyone remains “friends”, gets along, and the blame and rewards are shared.
Too, when you’re young, you’re usually not given the opportunity to make independent decisions. Or the ones you can make only affect yourself. Easier to be an Bbjectivist then. Then you start making a wider circle of friends, co-workers, family. Very, very tough to be an Objectivist (especially a declared one) when everyone else has their own ideas and ways about doing things. And then the peer pressure hits and you’re in high school again...
“You wanna be one of the cool kids, doncha?”
God's quiet, persistent voice in our ears. Once a person is finally all alone in the dark with nothing but objectivism to hold on to they usually realize something big and important is missing from their lives.