Posted on 06/23/2011 5:30:04 PM PDT by rob777
Ayn Rand was mostly correct when she wrote her magnum opus "Atlas Shrugged." She was incorrect in one important area. She assumed the final option for the wealthy and entrepreneurial class was to go on "strike" and retire to Galt's Gulch. In the modern world the movers and shakers don't strike, they migrate.
Atlas is shrugging in the US. Capital is relocated to regions where it is treated more favorably. Within the country, we see capital and jobs leaving the overtaxed, overregulated Blue states and migrating to smaller government Red states. That provides partial relief, but onerous federal policies cannot be avoided by moving within the country.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Nationalism is formed through a common idenity. I barely recognize this nation with all the ‘central planning’ dictates.
Those that believe in self determination are not going to fit in with the majority of serfs. The tipping point has been crossed when the government dependency index reached 51%.
We actually lost this country when they took the ten commandments from the town square and replaced them with moral relativism (or the whims of man) It’s getting harder to plan for the future in this country.
For example, I own a trucking company. I hear an increasing number in this country wanting to get trucks ‘off the road’. Since, LaHood as Sec of Transportation the trend towards rail has been developed. The writing is on the wall so to speak.
i have a picture of the tower where my ggggggrandfather was imprisoned in Switzerland in the early 1700’s for herecy because he was a Mennonite. That was the reason Jacob came to the US in 1729. It’s all about freedom.
Six Fortune 500 Companies Move Regional Headquarters to Shanghai
Shanghai. That's in China, no?
With all our ills, we're still the greatest and most free country in the world.
Not according to The Heritage Foundation the US is #9 and plummeting. Even The Daily [Ron] Paul website links to an index that places the at the lower side of the top 20 when looking at other metrics.
Ignorance about the world and arrogance about where you feel the united States ranks in comparison to other economies is part of the reason we will continue to keep the JATO pack to the bottom of the list lit.
It doesn't, as you know.
Personally, I love the book for what it is: a great novel, with an awesome message. It is wordy in spots, but it doesn't take anything away from its message.
The fact that Ayn was an atheist doesn't bother me, because I'm comfortable in my own skin regarding my personal ethos and belief in God. When I donate to my church, or give money to a street person, in my mind I'm giving value for value. More importantly, I'm doing it as an act of free will, not as a response to government coersion.
I find it laughable that opinions can be expressed about a novel that's over 1100 pages in length. There's too much going on in that novel that must be digested in order to express an informed opinion.
"It's the underlying philosophy, not the idea that people should be their own master under God that I object to in objectivism."
A quote from Ayn Rand
My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute
A quote from the Declaration of Independence
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
A quote from Solomon (Eccl 9:7-9)
"Go, eat your bread with joy,
And drink your wine with a merry heart;
For God has already accepted your works.
Let your garments always be white,
And let your head lack no oil.
Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun."
So an Atheist, a Jew and Christians all have an objective philosophy differing only in that those who know God understand that it is God who has graciously granted us these Rights. The atheist stumbles upon these truths without attribution.
Well said.
I don’t remember where Rand said it, and I’m paraphrasing, but Rand said she had no problem with charity, as long as it was given of free will.
Fr. Spitzer has appeared on EWTN many times and has written several books. The one on my bookshelf is "Healing the Culture."
At a reunion 10 years ago, he spoke for about 90 minutes on the topics he covered in his book, tying it into "the Gonzaga experience."
As I gazed around the auditorium, it was easy to distinguish between alumni and visitors.
Alumni were soaking in his words, as if to say, "yes, this is what I remember from so many years ago".
Visitors (like my wife), were enjoying the show (Fr. Bob is one of the most dynamic speakers I have ever known), while trying mightily to keep up with his thoughts.
Thanks for the ping.
The countries that dominate that index ahead of the USA are generally socialist countries! Is the supposed superiority of the quality of life in a socialist country worth more than the loss of freedom relative to America? I think not! Not only that, but a big reason most of them enjoy the freedom they do is because they lie under the defense umbrella of Uncle Sam. In many cases, I suspect that decisions to move capital out of the USA reflects a desire to receive the benefits of American military protection without having to pay a share of the upkeep on that defense.
Shanghai represents a brutal state socialism that abuses their people. Partnering with such a regime to take advantage of socialism’s serfs has has nothing to do with true American values and the ideas of freedom that Ayn Rand purports to uphold. I believe Thomas Jefferson had some negative things to say about folks who have more loyalty to commerce than they do to their nation.
"Rationality is the recognition of the fact that existence exists, that nothing can alter the truth and nothing can take precedence over that act of perceiving it, which is thinking-that the mind is one’s only judge of values and one’s only guide of action-that reason is an absolute that permits no compromise-that a concession to the irrational invalidates one’s consciousness and turns it from the task of perceiving to the task of faking reality-that the alleged short-cut to knowledge, which is faith, is only a short-circuit destroying the mind-that the acceptance of a mystical invention is a wish for the annihilation of existence and, properly, annihilates one’s consciousness."
Sounds atheistic to me.
"Man has been called a rational being, but rationality is a matter of choice-and the alternative his nature offers him is: rational being or suicidal animal. Man has to be man-by choice; he has to hold his life as a value-by choice: he has to learn to sustain it-by choice; he has to discover the values it requires and practice his virtues-by choice."
Sounds pro-choice to me. Both of the above quotes are from Galt's speech, ergo "going Galt" does indeed translate into an atheistic, pro-choice worldview. Just like his creator.
So, have you read the book?
Yes. Atheism and being pro-choice are intrinsic to Rand’s philosophy and her mouthpiece, John Galt.
America was founded upon an ethos of Christianity and the Christian sense of freedom and justice grew in that rich soil.
Capitalism is a term coined by Karl Marx and points to his atheistic and materialist philosophy. As well as the philosophy of self-denoted ‘capitalists’.
Atheistic political and economic philosophies have corrupted Europe and lead directly to its decadent position on the world stage today. Ayn Rand did what most atheistic secularists do. They flee to more Christian, freedom-loving climes and declare how wonderful it is: “All it needs is to be a little more ‘progressive’...”
One finds this attitude with the locust liberals who flee the results of their own ideals in California and Massachusetts (and now Illinois) to live in a redder state. Only to devour what they find there.
I really wish otherwise patriotic Americans would stop defending globalist scum who are destroying America.
There is no Galt.
He sold everything to Wang, who now owns the factory.
Time for a new idea direction.
AMERICA FIRST.
They call themselves socialist explicitly. We use euphemisms. Let's not kid ourselves that we are not, in effect, a socialist country at this point. Since FDR, EVERY president has increased the size of government except for Truman.
Not many people consider that. That's why I prefer to think of free enterprise.
With all our ills, our society founded with a respect to Christianity is still the best. And as for locales like Shanghai, everybody both here and there would be better off with us exporting more Christianity than capital.
I think we still have enough of that common identity under the surface. We may have to go some national hard times to purge the artificial valueless culture that dominates the superficial, but the founding principles are still there and those principles will prevail.
You can’t go home again.
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