I’ve read almost everything of Ayn Rand. She was a very good philosopher. Not the best by a long shot, but very, very good.
That said, I would not have trusted her (or most of her followers) to work in the White House, given their bizzare temperaments.
One of them was Alan Greenspan. He was the only one of the group that I know of that attained prominence.
I have too, but I especially enjoy this particular speech for some reason - probably because what she said then is still relevent now, only the characters have changed. Guess that's the beauty of philosophy, eh? :) Have you heard this speech?
Thanks for bringing up Ayn Rand.
I am disappointed that Ron Paul quoted Sinclair Lewis, probably thinking of his best known novel, “Babbit,” about a hypocritical preacher. Not many politicians could recall an obscure quotation in response to an unanticipated question. But, those who would be President, should be very careful not to offend the sensibilities of those whose support he would need.
I knew Ayn Rand, and Sinclair Lewis was no Ayn Rand. He was an anti-fascist only because he and his ilk lined up with the Republicans (i.e., the communists) during the Spanish Civil War. He was not in favor of freedom, democratic government, the free enterprise system, or traditional family values. He was a cynic who disdained everything American, an avante garde psuedo-intellectual with a poisoned mind.
Ayn Rand, on the other hand, featured heroic characters in her novels. And, as for other libetarian writers, I would mention Rose Wilder Lane of “The Little House on the Prairie” series, and Robert Heinlein (e.g., “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”). These writers were anti-communists as well as anti-fascists. They were pro-American and pro-freedom.
We should draw our analogies from wholesome sources, not from morally bankrupt ones.