dagblog - Comments for "Ayn Rand - The Sociopathic Hero of the Republican Party"

We thought we had ridden

cmaukonen — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 22:19:55 +0000

We thought we had ridden ourselves of the Aristocracy in the 1700s when in fact all we really did was move it and slap a fresh coat of paint on it and called it Wall Street.

Ayn Rand is one of my

David Seaton — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 18:36:28 +0000

In reply to Ayn Rand - The Sociopathic Hero of the Republican Party

Ayn Rand is one of my favorite hobby horses... a totally evil woman in my opinion and, in any one of the three Abrahamic traditions, literally satanic. For me there is a select list of people: Ayn Rand, Edward Bernays and Milton Friedman, signally among them, who have led the USA to ruin as a society.

HAHA...Good one Emma !!!

cmaukonen — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:33:05 +0000

In reply to Oh, yeah, businessmen really

HAHA...Good one Emma !!!

Oh, yeah, businessmen really

EmmaZahn — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:26:19 +0000

In reply to Well said, a good take, I

Oh, yeah, businessmen really need another affirmaton of their ubermenschen and master/slave philosophies. What harm could possibly come from that?

What's funny to me, of

Michael Maiello — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:02:56 +0000

In reply to Well said, a good take, I

What's funny to me, of course, is that in real life, a Randian superhero bank executive would have told the Treasury where to stuff their TARP. And then gone out of business. But no such Randian figures emerged, did they?

Which is why I believe that a modern day John Galt speech would have to start with, "This is John Galt speaking. We, uh... overinvested in mortgages and they went down. Please send money."

Unfortunately, she didn't

AmericanDreamer — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:00:08 +0000

In reply to No, no. I'm certain you must

Unfortunately, she didn't stop with the above but had strong views about economics as well.

Well said, a good take, I

AmericanDreamer — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:57:23 +0000

In reply to No doubt Rand was genuine in

Well said, a good take, I think. I spotted the following in a bookstore the other day, just out and probably quite thoughtfully timed:

Why Businessmen Need Philosophy: The Capitalist's Guide to the Ideas Beyind Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, more info at: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Businessmen-Need-Philosophy-Capitalists/dp/0451232690/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1304109402&sr=1-1-fkmr0

In the past year, as this White House and many congressional Democrats have joined with the Republicans in making manifest their tone deafness to the Wall Street abuses and fallout stemming therefrom, I have come across 3 or 4 individuals who have written book reviews at amazon using unmistakeably Randian language. (when I have suggested as much, they have sometimes responded by quoting or citing Rand.)

It was almost as if the latest round of outrages has so publicly confirmed for them their manifest belief that government can do nothing right as to give them courage to come out of the woodworks and seek converts openly.

I've tried having exchanges with them. They are every bit as dogmatic and doctrinaire as any Marxist you could find. Again, the word that comes to mind is "irony", that the ostensibly free-thought promoting Rand would have spawned such a following of Limbaugh-esque dittohead, apparently robotic devotees.

At least the publishers of the book above didn't have the chutzpah to subtitle it: "The Thinking Businessperson's Guide to the Ideas Behind Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged".

No doubt Rand was genuine in

Michael Maiello — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:28:33 +0000

In reply to Ayn Rand - The Sociopathic Hero of the Republican Party

No doubt Rand was genuine in her beliefs, informed as they were by some unpleasantness from her youth in Russia but I also suspect a great deal of hucksterism, what with her cadre of hangers on and her institutes and all that. She was, ultimately, the court philosopher for wealthy conservatives and in choosing to be that she actually subjugated much of her vaunted individuality. She danced for her masters just like everyone else.

I usually like Shermer. But

Michael Maiello — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:25:46 +0000

In reply to My take on Ayn Rand is

I usually like Shermer. But I don't click on Huffpo links. What was his argument?

On the level of personal

AmericanDreamer — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:19:35 +0000

In reply to Ayn Rand - The Sociopathic Hero of the Republican Party

On the level of personal behavior, the heroes in Rand's novels...blow up buildings, and dynamite oil fields -- actions which Rand portrays as admirable and virtuous fulfillments of the characters' personal will and desires.

So the inspiration for the Republicans' top budget guy--put there by his GOP peers in Congress and photographed as one of the GOP's 3 "Young Guns" for the cover of Time magazine--going into politics was someone who was not just soft on, but glorified, terrorism; would have abolished Social Security or anything serving its purpose of retirement security; and looked down on Americans of ordinary means who work hard and play by the rules?