Ayn Rand

[August1991]

Don't Read My Comment Below Before Voting!

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When I first read Ayn Rand, I reckoned that she was the weird product of a marriage between Adolf Hitler and Adam Smith.

Later in life, when I read her book about the Russian revolution, I understood better how she viewed, well, "life". 

Do posters here/young people today know of/have ever read Ayn Rand?

Edited January 28, 2017 by August1991

[eyeball]

I've seen young people laugh their asses off at Ayn Rand movies.  The Fountainhead comes to mind.

[August1991]

24 minutes ago, eyeball said:

I've seen young people laugh their asses off at Ayn Rand movies.  The Fountainhead comes to mind.

Eyeball, I gather that you voted "Yes, of course" in my poll.

But my poll asks new, general MLW members/first time posters to vote. (If you do, be honest... )

Edited January 28, 2017 by August1991

[drummindiver]

Of course Eyeball would hate Rand She espouses personal responsibility like having a job and sich.

[BubberMiley]

Isn't she that old lady that was against social security and Medicare until she needed it, and then happily collected it like everyone else once she qualified?

[eyeball]

9 hours ago, August1991 said:

Eyeball, I gather that you voted "Yes, of course" in my poll.

But my poll asks new, general MLW members/first time posters to vote. (If you do, be honest... )

Ummm.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, August1991 said:

Eyeball, I gather that you voted "Yes, of course" in my poll.

But my poll asks new, general MLW members/first time posters to vote. (If you do, be honest... )

No it doesn't.  It just asks "Have you ever heard of Ayn Rand?"

You mean I wasted four seconds of my valuable time?

[TimG]

I had always thought Atlas Shrugged was meant to be a parody of Communism.

I did not realize that people interpreted to be a  philosophy in its own right until later.

Edited January 28, 2017 by TimG

[The_Squid]

7 hours ago, BubberMiley said:

Isn't she that old lady that was against social security and Medicare until she needed it, and then happily collected it like everyone else once she qualified?

Yes.   It makes you wonder why her philosophy was so great if she couldn't even live it herself.   "Personal responsibility" and a deep hatred of the state...   until her own philosophy failed, then the state was kind enough to take care of her in her old age.

The people now who treat Rand's philosophies as the Gospel seem to either not know this, or conveniently ignore it.

Edited January 28, 2017 by The_Squid

[drummindiver]

Realize her hatred of the state came from her youth in Russia where personal freedoms  were non existent in her day. 

Did she even need medicare?Her estate was worth $1.2;million. She sold over 27 million books and toured extensively. It was in her own self interest to take it.

Along with Isabela Paterson and Rose Wilder Lane she has been credited with starting libertariaism. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism

Some of her writings and beliefs are off the rail but her basic tenet is one I embrace.

"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.
— Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

Edited January 28, 2017 by drummindiver

[ReeferMadness]

"Atlas Shrugged" is the most pretentious, bombastic, puerile piece of nonsense I've ever read.  I forced myself to complete it but it cured me of any desire to ever read anything by her again.  The John Galt speech goes on for about 100 pages, saying things that could easily fit into a few paragraphs.  What drivel.

Funnily enough, the essential philosophy would have appealed to me at one time in my life.   But then I turned 15.

 

[The_Squid]

1 hour ago, drummindiver said:

Did she even need medicare?Her estate was worth $1.2;million

No she didn't.  She could have afforded her own healthcare, but she didn't want to spend all her money/estate on medical/medicine in her old age.   So she was on Medicare so she could pass her millions on....   

A total hypocrite and a failed philosophy. 

Edited January 29, 2017 by The_Squid

[The_Squid]

Any Rand dismissed the scientific evidence of the effects of smoking....  she got lung cancer.    Oops.

[drummindiver]

How is looking after your own self interests hypocritical?  Libersls do it all day long;  so an objectivist should certainly be able to.

[drummindiver]

7 hours ago, ReeferMadness said:

"Atlas Shrugged" is the most pretentious, bombastic, puerile piece of nonsense I've ever read.  I forced myself to complete it but it cured me of any desire to ever read anything by her again.  The John Galt speech goes on for about 100 pages, saying things that could easily fit into a few paragraphs.  What drivel.

Funnily enough, the essential philosophy would have appealed to me at one time in my life.   But then I turned 15.

 

Kind of like communism. When I was 12 and smoked weed.

[Ash74]

20 hours ago, The_Squid said:

No she didn't.  She could have afforded her own healthcare, but she didn't want to spend all her money/estate on medical/medicine in her old age.   So she was on Medicare so she could pass her millions on....   

A total hypocrite and a failed philosophy. 

Did she not pay taxes?

Are those taxes not for services?

If she paid the taxes than why did she not have the right to what the taxes were meant for?

[eyeball]

I guess she just comes off sounding like a climate change activist that drives a fossil fuel burning car on their way to the rally/protest.

You know how that goes.