Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Ayn Rand, Paul Ryan, et al: Following Fiction into Reality

....As did Alan Greenspan, Mr. "Irrational Exuberance"
himself, another admirer of Ms. Rand. I've never understood
how enjoying The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged or her other
works translates into a credible, sensible prescription for
real life. This phenomenon is similar to Scientology, a "religion"
founded by another fantasist, sci fi writer Ron Hubbard.

Ms. Rand called her highly subjective, individual always-comes
-first philosophy "objectivism". (Yet another unpalatable idea
dressed up by naming it as a noble notion, a la the Emperor's
New Clothes. Nothing's new about either of these fictions.)

The one versus the many is a complex conundrum, endlessly
to be renegotiated; it was ever thus. How can anyone not know
this? Often the many must prevail over the one, in the interest of
justice and stability over chaos. But fairly often as well, the one
will win out, due to truth, justice, and eventual stability over
chaos. Human life has a see-saw quality to it, or a set of scales.
Policies and practices pointing us all toward a more practical
and humane civilization have reflected that reality, must continue
to be based on such an understanding.

Otherwise, Ayn Rand's architect Roark won't have any clients to
build his designs for.

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