Ayn Rand

[bitbit]

Any fans of Rand's philosophy here?

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[Mike Christ]

Likely; there's a whole lot of Atlas Shrugged fans here.  I haven't read it yet but it seems like something I'd enjoy.

[crypTrade]

Any fans of Rand's philosophy here?

I only like Rand as a person. What a sexy, sexy woman.

[bitbit]

Likely; there's a whole lot of Atlas Shrugged fans here.  I haven't read it yet but it seems like something I'd enjoy.

Yeah, it's my favorite novel!

[Mike Christ]

Likely; there's a whole lot of Atlas Shrugged fans here.  I haven't read it yet but it seems like something I'd enjoy.

Yeah, it's my favorite novel!

Care to tell me about it?    Or specifically, her philosophy.

[myrkul]

She had some good points.

She didn't get everything right, IMO, but neither did Bastiat, so that's OK.

Care to tell me about it?    Or specifically, her philosophy.

Remember that quote I posted in the other thread?

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

That's the core of it. She just shied away from taking that to the logical conclusion.

[bitbit]

Any fans of Rand's philosophy here?

I only like Rand as a person. What a sexy, sexy woman.

Her looks didn't match har mind

Wonder what she would think of Bitcoin...

[Mike Christ]

Remember that quote I posted in the other thread?

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

That's the core of it. She just shied away from taking that to the logical conclusion.

Reminds me of that famous phrase: "Live and let live."

[bitbit]

Care to tell me about it?    Or specifically, her philosophy.

Her philosophy is called Objectivism. Got this from Atlas Society:

Objectivism is the philosophy of rational individualism. Objectivism holds that there is no greater moral goal than achieving happiness. But one cannot achieve happiness by wish or whim. Fundamentally, it requires rational respect for the facts of reality, including the facts about our human nature and needs. Happiness requires that one live by objective principles, including moral integrity and respect for the rights of others. Politically, Objectivists advocate laissez-faire capitalism. Under capitalism, a strictly limited government protects each person's rights to life, liberty, and property and forbids that anyone initiate force against anyone else. The heroes of Objectivism are achievers who build businesses, invent technologies (such at Bitcoin), and create art and ideas, depending on their own talents and on trade with other independent people to reach their goals.
 
Objectivism is optimistic, holding that the universe is open to human achievement and happiness and that each person has within him the ability to live a rich, fulfilling, independent life. This idealistic message suffuses Rand's novels, which continue to sell by the hundreds of thousands every year to people attracted to their inspirational storylines and distinctive ideas.
 

[bitbit]

Remember that quote I posted in the other thread?

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

That's the core of it. She just shied away from taking that to the logical conclusion.

That's the core of Objectivist ethics. Your life belongs to you.

What's the logical conclusion?

[Mike Christ]

Hrmm so it's very much like libertarianism, I see?

[bitbit]

If you want a quick introduction to Objectivism, reading this summary is maybe the best place to start that I know of.

http://www.atlassociety.org/objectivism

[bitbit]

Hrmm so it's very much like libertarianism, I see?

Politically, there are many similarities, but while libertarian ethics (if I have understood it correctly) is based on the non-aggression principle, rational self interest is the core of Objectivist ethics. Since, in most cases, using force is not in the self interest of the individual, there is often a convergence of political views.  

[myrkul]

Remember that quote I posted in the other thread?

"I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine."

That's the core of it. She just shied away from taking that to the logical conclusion.

That's the core of Objectivist ethics. Your life belongs to you.

What's the logical conclusion?

Your life belongs to you. Government, through taxation, places a claim on it. I think you can do the math from there.

Btw, have you read the sword of truth series by Terry Goodkind?

[bitbit]

Your life belongs to you. Government, through taxation, places a claim on it. I think you can do the math from there.

Btw, have you read the sword of truth series by Terry Goodkind?

Ayn Rand was against taxation

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/taxation.html

No, I haven't read it.

[myrkul]

Your life belongs to you. Government, through taxation, places a claim on it. I think you can do the math from there.

Btw, have you read the sword of truth series by Terry Goodkind?

Ayn Rand was against taxation

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/taxation.html

Huh. I wonder if she'd ever come across "The production of security" by Gustave de Molinari.

In a fully free society, taxation—or, to be exact, payment for governmental services—would be voluntary. Since the proper services of a government—the police, the armed forces, the law courts—are demonstrably needed by individual citizens and affect their interests directly, the citizens would (and should) be willing to pay for such services, as they pay for insurance.

No, I haven't read it.

Goodkind's an objectivist. He does the same thing Rand did, but with dragons and magic instead of trains and metal. Better story, and less preaching, too.

[bitbit]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzj2QYTcgO0

[myrkul]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzj2QYTcgO0

Which brings me to my other complaint with her.... She supported intellectual property. Probably why she couldn't quite accept getting rid of government entirely.

[bitbit]

The only alternative to intellectual property is intellectual socialism.

And yes, as a true champion of individual rights, she couldn't accept anarchy.

[Mike Christ]

If one can own physical property without help from the state, why couldn't one also own intellectual property?  If an idea cannot naturally be defending in a physical realm, shouldn't it be defended in an intellectual one?  Assuming anarchism begets intellectuals, I would hope it isn't a large problem if someone wrote a song, and another person claimed to write that song without any proof they did.  It's still thievery, just of another kind; thievery in an anarchistic society could be handled without the state, couldn't it?