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Ayn Rand in Retrospect
Objectivist Center ^ | 3/5/02 | Dr. Edward L. Hudgins

Posted on 08/08/2002 4:20:37 PM PDT by RJCogburn

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To: NatureGirl
That quote was priceless. No wonder Atlas Shrugged is a classic.
41 posted on 08/08/2002 9:28:28 PM PDT by NEWwoman
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To: Kevin Curry
She had had her first lung removed about ten years earlier.

It might be interesting to know what hospitals she recieved treatments at and who wound up footing the bill.

42 posted on 08/09/2002 12:44:14 AM PDT by Roscoe
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To: Kevin Curry
Geez Kevin, join the ranks with those who think Ken Starr is evil, Clarence Thomas rents questionable videos, and John Ashcroft is a crazed Christian. Maybe it's time to judge people on their work product as opposed to character assassination.
43 posted on 08/09/2002 8:33:24 AM PDT by robertpaulsen
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To: RJCogburn
Unlike plants or lower animals, human beings have a unique rational capacity that each of us must choose to exercise if we’re to survive and prosper. We need to discover how to produce food, how to cure diseases, how to construct shelters and how to build skyscrapers. This means that we each must be free to act on the judgments of our own minds.

Cannabis destroys human rational capacity and good judgement.
It should remain a banned substance.

44 posted on 08/09/2002 8:43:00 AM PDT by Willie Green
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To: one_particular_harbour
Her books are still in print.
45 posted on 08/09/2002 8:56:28 AM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
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To: Willie Green
Cannabis destroys human rational capacity and good judgement. It should remain a banned substance.

Alcohol, religion, and according some people, TV, do the same.

46 posted on 08/09/2002 9:00:12 AM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
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To: Dick Vomer
I started reading Atlas Shrugged about a year ago, read about 100-150 pages of it. I put it down and forgot where I left off, so last night I started reading it at the beginning.

This book is way over my head. A bum asks a man for a dime and then says, "who is John Galt"? From what I've read, it's about a man who works for a Taggart Transcontinental like his father and grandfather before him. He was childhood friends with Dagne Taggart and her brother but now works for them as an adult. I think I read that Dagne takes over the corporation down the road.

I'm trying to understand what this book is about, can ANYONE clue me BASICALLY what is Ayn Rand trying to tell the reader?
47 posted on 08/09/2002 9:06:55 AM PDT by TamiPie
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To: RJCogburn
Rand observed that individuals can deal with each other in one of two ways: though mutual consent or by initiating force. Capitalism is the social system based on mutual consent and respect for the rights and dignity of each individual.

Herein lies Rand's fundamental error.
Capitalism is not a social system, it is an economic system that equates human labor with raw material as just another input commodity to be exploited for profit. Similarly, "respect" for customers is merely lip-service. Customers are not treated as individuals, they are a revenue source to be exploited through bland product standarization coupled with mind-numbing advertising propaganda.

48 posted on 08/09/2002 9:07:15 AM PDT by Willie Green
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To: Doctor Stochastic
Alcohol, religion, and according some people, TV, do the same.

Those three examples have both positive and negative facets.
Cannabis has only negative.

49 posted on 08/09/2002 9:10:40 AM PDT by Willie Green
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To: Willie Green
I wouldn't know. I assume you are speaking from experience.

50 posted on 08/09/2002 9:15:25 AM PDT by Doctor Stochastic
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To: NatureGirl
#7 - Perfect.
51 posted on 08/09/2002 9:16:21 AM PDT by MrB
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To: TamiPie
I'm trying to understand what this book is about, can ANYONE clue me BASICALLY what is Ayn Rand trying to tell the reader?

Many wonder the same about L. Ron Hubbard.
Only the cult-following "knows" for sure. (And they're primarily kook extremists.)
Just read and enjoy the story without trying to decipher any "deeper significance".
That'll help you maintain a more balanced perspective.
You can then compare Rand to other novelists that you've read when you're finished, and come to your own conclusions.
Don't let the cultists foist their interpretation of their bible upon you.

52 posted on 08/09/2002 9:20:50 AM PDT by Willie Green
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To: NatureGirl
Actually, it was #22 that was perfect.
I'm going to use it.
53 posted on 08/09/2002 9:23:35 AM PDT by MrB
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To: dubyagee
I thought Atlas Shrugged characters were too black and white myself, but The Fountainhead proved to have more diverse characters.

Aye, that was my objection to it as well, and the writing style is equally stiff. It is also one of the reasons I much prefer Heinlein to Rand as well; Heinlein created much better characters. I'd take Lazarus Long (from "Time Enough For Love") over any of the Randian characters, for example.

54 posted on 08/09/2002 9:30:12 AM PDT by tortoise
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To: TamiPie
Try the Cliff's Notes.
55 posted on 08/09/2002 9:52:34 AM PDT by RJCogburn
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To: RJCogburn
Ayn Rand thought that the Libertarian party was ridiculous.
56 posted on 08/09/2002 10:02:11 AM PDT by kidd
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To: TamiPie
I'm trying to understand what this book is about, can ANYONE clue me BASICALLY what is Ayn Rand trying to tell the reader?

What would happen if the most productive citizens in the country..... just said..."no, I'm going to take a break for awhile and I'm taking my ball with me you all are on your own

.... in other words what if Bill Gates corrupted Window deliberatly shut down Microsoft and let the Justice Department run Microsoft subsidiaries... John Stossell, Howard Cossell, Pete Roselle, Thomas Edison, Michael Dell, Ross Perot, Henry Ford (original), Dale Carnegie, Milton Hershey, Rockefeller (original), Vanderbilt.... Head of Fox Networks...

in other words if the main people who are the "real" innovators not just the scammers decided to quit.. what would happen to our society?

If you look at your company or job site... there is always one or two people who "make things work... do the extra effort to rise above the mediocre and make your company special... if those people were to stop and allow only the average to be the norm... what would society be like.

Atlas Shrugged points out why we have so many laws... not to have laws but to have things so muddled that nobody can obey the laws and then everyone is a criminal... like today's gun laws and tax laws and property laws (environmental)

57 posted on 08/09/2002 10:45:39 AM PDT by Dick Vomer
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To: Hank Kerchief
Herman Wouk.
58 posted on 08/31/2002 9:52:01 PM PDT by onedoug
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To: one_particular_harbour
Rand was a talentless hack

Ultimately, that didn't impede George Bush Jr. either. So what's your point?

59 posted on 09/01/2002 8:03:59 AM PDT by Hank Rearden
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Comment #60 Removed by Moderator


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