Posted on 12/13/2009 1:02:29 PM PST by rface
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Ayn Rand is back. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the long-dead novelist and philosopher has become prophet and a scapegoat. Liberals blame her for the economic collapse, citing the influence of her most famous acolyte, Alan Greenspan. Conservatives hail her as a visionary who saw it all coming. Love her or hate her, Rand's ideas have become fundamental to how Americans understand capitalism.
The liberal case against Rand rests on her relationship with Alan Greenspan, the long-term head of the Federal Reserve Bank. In his youth, Greenspan was part of "The Collective," a small group of students who gathered around Rand in the 1950s and 1960s in New York City. A regular visitor to Rand's Saturday night salon, he read the first drafts of Rand's most famous novel, "Atlas Shrugged," as they came off her typewriter. He quickly mastered the fundamentals of Objectivism, her individualistic philosophy. Rand taught that reality is objective, reason rules supreme, selfishness is a virtue, and laissez-faire capitalism is the only moral and practical social system.
In a series of articles written for Rand's Objectivist Newsletter, Greenspan applied these ideas to current politics. .......
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The record-breaking sales of Rand's books in the last year suggest her influence may be just beginning. Many readers are turning to Rand to understand our past - but she may be a better guide to our future.
(Excerpt) Read more at mcclatchydc.com ...
Rand was not an atheist if you define it as someone who insists that God does not exist. She considered it beyond man’s ability to know or prove the existence or non-existence of God. She put it in the category of unknowable.
“She was an extremly ugly woman.”
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Hey, I’ll grant you she ain’t no livin’ doll and she don’t kick start my engine but if you think that is extremely ugly what do you call some who are ten times uglier?
Yes, anyone who imagines himself a “law abiding” citizen is living in a fog. One cannot be that which cannot exist.
Once again, we hear from the biggest leftist on Free Republic. Why do you have a pathological hatred of libertarians? Less government IS the solution to most of our problems. To quote Ronald Reagan, “Government IS the problem.” I realize you may not have IQ points to comprehend that.
You might enjoy this. I posted it earlier today. The roots of libertarianism.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2406657/posts
parsy, the progressive conservative who doesn’t hate ordinary people like mean ‘ol libertarians.
LOL! you’ve pretty well nailed it.
WRONG! As pointed out in Atlas Shrugged, the mainstream media was very left wing. The libs in the NY Times, the Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, etc. had a monopoly on the printed press, and Americans turned the television to watch uber leftist Walter Cronkite spew his propaganda uninterrupted.
Ayn Rand stood for innovation, Freedom, and the thinking, entrepreneurial minority. While I think that she too often leaned toward utopianism in her faith in "the capable," I do think that she was spot on in that the sheeple (and the demagougues who manipulate them) will lead us into slavery and collectivism.
The entire leftist platform screeched and hollered about ring wing dominance and fascism in our society during those times and now they have ushered in nothing but an new era of leftist fascism becoming no better than their predecessors.
McCarthism = McCarthyism
The NY Times, Boston Globe, and SF Chronicle were all VERY much strident in their opposition to McCarthy. The only remotely conservative major papers were the Chicago Tribune and the Manchester Union Leader.
These Rand threads are always a hoot. Her influence is proven by the number of people who complain about her books and her philosophy but know next to nothing about it.
Isn't that the truth!
For once I wish someone would read her work!
Her novella "Anthem" is a better indictment against Collectivism and its ultimate destruction of the human spirit. It is mindful to me of "By the Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benét.
I guess you haven't heard about the God-given right of Americans to get paid above global-market rates and not have to compete.
We have a winner!!!!
These Ayn Rand threads always seem to remind me of the Blind men and the Elephant. I suppose the anonymity of the internet emboldens some to freely expose their ignorance without fear of confrontation of the facts. Ayn Rand was a flawed human being in some ways and brilliant in others. When you read Atlas Shrugged and then turn to today’s news media you see what an astute prophet she was.
So, all you holier-than-thou-know-it-alls should go learn a little about the subject before you embarrass yourselves further.
A progressive conservative is an oxymoron. Thank you for basically admitting you are a leftist.
After all that, until today I had not noticed that Ayn had Bette Davis eyes! LOL!
I had to struggle and push myself through sections of ATLAS , but I am glad to have finished it. I bought a new edition that was about 1000 pages of 8 font print.....good grief! I also watched a movie circa 1960's? the Fountain Head.....another Rand novel that was put into a movie. Not the greatest - not bad.....had the same basic theme as ATLAS.
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