Matt-Chicago wrote:"It's amusing but ultimately sad reading the immature and discredited objectivist nonsense which has been denounced and renounced by all but the most ideologically idealistic and foolish. Most young subscribers to Ayn Rand's reprehensible nonsense get over it by the time they graduate college - as they should.
For those here who don't know about objectivism - it's basically a philosophy which glorifies individualism, selfishness, greed, and abhors altruism or basically trying to do or plan anything for the benefit of others or society as a whole."
What you failed to realize about objectivism and the philosophies that it espouses, is that it glorifies the people in this world that use their minds to produce. It recognizes that some people are better than others and in varying degrees from superstars in their fields to sheep who need to go through life being led around and punch a clock everyday. Objectivism describes how these men should behave in our ideal society.
The other thing you fail to understand is the difference between "Society" and "Government." The Government is the weapon a society wields against individuals. A society is a group of people acting together for mutual benefit. There are people in our society who do NOT act properly for the benefit of society. Our founders realized this and tried to limit the weapon these individuals could use against society and its members. Much of the writing surrounding objectivism tries to dispel the illusions the wrong-headed people weave to disguise immoral actions as reasonable and benevolent help and support.
Matt-Chicago wrote:This is what generations of Americans have struggled for and what is currently being taken away and for what? So the people with all the wealth and power can get even more wealth and power. Because five vacation houses are better than four even if it means the elderly eating cat food and corpses rotting in the streets.
No one (not even objectivists and Tea Party members) thinks grandma should eat cat food or that a laid off worker should become destitute. Objectivist recognize the immorality of forcing someone to labor to fix those situations. Altruists are too happy to grab a whip and crack it at his fellow man to make him buy grandma a meal or help pay the laid off workers mortgage. Objectivism does NOT preclude it's followers from giving to grandma or the unemployed. It simply says it that it is immoral to be compelled to do so.
What the altruists want is people to be charitable and don't trust anyone to be that way so they crack the government whip and steal from their fellow man to give to another. They don't even have the guts to recognize themselves as thieves. They point to the good that the blood money has done and accept all the thanks and praise RIGHTFULLY due to the person the money was stolen from. That is how the religion of Government is created and sustained.
Matt-Chicago wrote:The issue is that you can still have a government and society which guarantees some standard of living for its citizens regardless of wealth, power, ability, or other personal circumstances and still leave plenty for the market. Guaranteeing that everyone has access to health care will not hurt entrepreneurism, nor will a guaranteed paltry retirement like social security, nor will assistance to poor families, nor will regulations to protect workers, consumers, and the environment.
Let's see if I can adjust your statement from an Objectivist perspective and see if you can understand the differences:
Objectivist wrote:The issue is that we can have a society that provides protection for worker, consumer and environmental safety along with some minimum standard of living for its members without interfering with the market.
A society of good Objectivists could achieve such a state. Unfortunately, our society is NOT made up exclusively with Objectivists. The movement is still young and the Altruists still hold too much power.
Matt, Government is NOT the answer. Stop worshiping it. "It is in Men that we must place our hope." Lead them to the light by strength of will, stoutness of character and the pure light of Truth. Not by the whip and the gun. Teach them to be Men worthy to be called Americans by living life in a Rational and virtuous way. Work hard, play fair and make amends for your misdeeds and mistakes. All else that follows is right and good.
