catlind wrote on Feb 19th, 2009 at 10:16am:Flo, I don't put much stock in wiki,
OK, wiki has its limits, but do you disagree that the book was about talented people protesting the way things are, yet the effect of their protest was to make things worse?? That was my impression when I read the book - even if the gripes were legitimate, the 'solution' was counterproductive.
I realize that fans of the book see it one way (If you don't give us what we want/what should be, you will make things worse), while others see it as petulance (If you don't give us what we want, we will use our power to bring everyone down).
Quote:... But if just one person can take away the premise that we hold our lives and our fates in our own hands and can use that to build a value structure and life that is for the purpose of our own value and growth then I think it a worthwhile read.
Ayn Rand in and of herself is a zealot of her own kind. You have to read beyond the preaching and zealotry to arrive at your own personal interpretation.
That's exactly my point in comparing it with Nation of Islam. African American's who find NOI (often in prison) value learning and self-development; they go from being slouches to standing tall and taking responsibility for themselves. Some get beyond the zealotry, but most do not. In both cases, it can lead to improvement of the self-centered individual, but not to the development of the philanthropic individual.
I would also compare Rand to Karl Marx - just switch out Marx's idea that the value of labor is the real foundation of society with Rand's emphasis on the mental products of the 'talented few'. Then switch out Marx's idea that the factory owner or capitalist is only a parasite and the prime problem with Rand's belief that the herd/masses can only be parasites and they are to blame for the current mess.
The laissez-faire vision of the world that Rand, Friedman, Alan Greenspan and others championed simply doesn't work. Even Greenspan now recognizes this.
Quote:She has inspired politicians, presidents and economists across the globe. One notable and illustrious follower of Ayn Rand’s philosophy is former United States Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan. Greenspan’s policies dominated the world economic situation for decades. In his early years, Greenspan was part of her close knit and exclusive club called the “Collectives” that met every week to write, discuss and promote her ideas. In those days he wrote spirited commentary for her newsletter with the fervour of a new convert. So great was her influence on him that he invited her to attend his swearing in ceremony in Washington D.C.
In the 1990s, Greenspan’s ideologies met with great success. Greenspan rode the tide of a global economic boom characterised by unparalleled borrowing and high consumer spending. The free market enterprise propagated by Alan Greenspan for over 40 years recommended a hands-off approach where banks and markets had very little regulation. The politicians and government officials who argued for more controls and checks and balances to regulate the economy were silenced by the performance of the bullish stock market.
Last year, when the world banks came crashing down and the housing market was brought to its knees owing to the mortgage crises,
Greenspan expressed shocked disbelief at the magnitude of the credit crisis and admitted that there was a flaw in his hands-off unfettered free market ideology. The laissez faire philosophy whose cornerstone is self regulation of financial institutions proved to be an oxymoron.
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