Ron Paul's godless goddess of greed: Ayn Rand

[tsai3904]

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-a-budget/160169-ron-pauls-godless-goddess-of-greed-ayn-rand

[wizardwatson]

From article:


The core of Ayn Rand's view, incorporated into many of the policies of Dr. Paul and certain (but not all) Tea Party believers, is that the poor are poor because they are inferior, that workers are jobless because they are inferior (how many times have Ayn Rand believers opposed jobless benefits, falsely believing the jobless would rather have the benefits than the jobs?).

+


I can respect and in many ways admire Dr. Paul, and have always tried to treat him fairly in my columns, but where is his concern for the poor? Where is his protection of consumers from abuse? Where is Dr. Paul's concern for American workers whose jobs are being exported to low-wage nations?

+ n other paragraphs

=

FAIL

[jmdrake]

You know, I haven't said talked about this before, but I'll say it now. I haven't watched Atlas Shrugged nor have I read the book. I did watch the trailer and several aspects of it bothered me. The part where the steel tycoon acknowledged that his seeking wealth was his only concern bothered me. The implication that all charities are evil shakedown organizations that take from the rich without acknowledging their contribution bothers me. (How many people do you know would write a check for $100,000 to a charity they didn't support just because of "friendship" and then go along with the friend's demand of doing it anonymously? At the very least a business tycoon would demand a tax receipt). And when I read here at RPF that Ayn Rand tried to talk Murray Rothbard into divorcing his wife simply because she (the wife) was not atheist, I lost all respect for Ayn. That said, Ron Paul can embrace parts of her philosophy without embracing all of it. (Oh yeah, and I think this is why the movie bombed. It was being marketed to "tea party" types, the vast majority of whom are Christians and don't support the "god mammon" philosophy.) And before someone slams me for criticizing the movie based on the trailer, I'm sorry but that's the "free market" at work. If you show me a trailer where the hero is such a douche that he makes his wife a metal bracelet for a "gift" and doesn't understand why she doesn't share his excitement then don't blame me for thinking it might not be that great of a flick.

[low preference guy]

The Hill is definitely getting traffic for posting Ron Paul articles. Yesterday they posted a Juan Williams article that was very positive to Ron. Today they criticize him with a nonsensical article.

[low preference guy]

Regarding the article, I stopped reading right here.


So has former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, whose monetary policies, not unrelated to his admiration for Ayn Rand, did as much as anyone to cause the financial crash.

That's absolutely ridiculous. Ayn Rand was against fiat money. Even in Atlas Shrugged, the currency used in Galt's Gulch is gold. Alan Greenspan was against the existence of the Fed when he was associated with her. He changed his views and Objectivists hate him, and the disaster he was as a central banker has nothing to do with his previous association with Ayn Rand.

[wizardwatson]

Regarding the article, I stopped reading right here.



That's absolutely ridiculous. Ayn Rand was against fiat money. Even in Atlas Shrugged, the currency used in Galt's Gulch is gold. Alan Greenspan was against the existence of the Fed when he was associated with her. He changed his views and Objectivists hate him, and the disaster he was as a central banker has nothing to do with his previous association with Ayn Rand.

I can't believe he said, "Where's is Ron's concern for the poor?" Ron is the only one, well maybe Kucinich, who even realizes or talks about how Fed policies involve stealing directly from the poor, who have no assets to speak of which appreciate during inflation, who live hand to mouth, and who are the most affected by inflation.

[Agorism]

I'm so sick of hearing about how Ayn Rand is a Libertarian.

[TroySmith]

I'm so sick of hearing about how Ayn Rand is a Libertarian.

You just have no idea what your talking about. Ayn Rand criticized libertarians like David Boaz who apparently are spineless. She, along with Mises, Rothbard etc., were the premier liberty intellectuals of the 20th century. Seriously, read Atlas Shrugged, educate yourself, then have an input on Rand.

[McBell]

Ayn Rand would object to being called a libertarian.

[speciallyblend]

bottom line is Ayn Rand comes across very cold in alot of things she says! I am glad she is not Ron Paul !!

[I Don't Vote]

Have them watch this video:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK_-iVppgQs

[S.Shorland]

Well at least Paul is acknowledging his role in the creation of the Tea Party now.He may have left it a little late but better late than never.Black families are killed by welfare and the war on drugs.Until LBJ,poverty in your country was decreasing by 1% per year.

[sevin]

You know, I haven't said talked about this before, but I'll say it now. I haven't watched Atlas Shrugged nor have I read the book.

You really have to read Atlas Shrugged or some objectivist literature. 9 out of 10 people on this forum don't really understand her philosophy.


I did watch the trailer and several aspects of it bothered me. The part where the steel tycoon acknowledged that his seeking wealth was his only concern bothered me.

The point is that it's okay to seek wealth if that's what you want. You shouldn't have to worry about bureaucrats whining that you don't give enough. Ironically, they're the ones who are truly being greedy because they want something for nothing.


And when I read here at RPF that Ayn Rand tried to talk Murray Rothbard into divorcing his wife simply because she (the wife) was not atheist, I lost all respect for Ayn. That said, Ron Paul can embrace parts of her philosophy without embracing all of it.

I agree, she was wrong about that, along with many other things. But just as Ron Paul can embrace parts of her philosophy without embracing all of it, you can respect most of Ayn Rand's work without respecting everything she ever said.


And before someone slams me for criticizing the movie based on the trailer, I'm sorry but that's the "free market" at work. If you show me a trailer where the hero is such a douche that he makes his wife a metal bracelet for a "gift" and doesn't understand why she doesn't share his excitement then don't blame me for thinking it might not be that great of a flick.

See, you don't know the context. Rearden invented a new metal that is twice as strong and twice as light as steel. It is greatest accomplishment, his life's work. And the first thing made of that metal was the bracelet he gave to his wife. But she still didn't appreciate it.

[Brian4Liberty]

I have read a lot from Ron Paul, and I don't recall anything talking about Ayn Rand specifically. It doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it means it never resulted in anything memorable.

Yet, I have heard or read praise of Ayn Rand from Alan Greenspan, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.

Just an observation.

[TroySmith]

I have read a lot from Ron Paul, and I don't recall anything talking about Ayn Rand specifically. It doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but it means it never resulted in anything memorable.

Yet, I have heard or read praise of Ayn Rand from Alan Greenspan, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin.

Just an observation.


He mentions her in both End the Fed ( a lot) and Revolution: A Manifesto.

[Indy Vidual]

...
That's absolutely ridiculous. Ayn Rand was against fiat money. Even in Atlas Shrugged, the currency used in Galt's Gulch is gold. Alan Greenspan was against the existence of the Fed when he was associated with her. He changed his views and Objectivists hate him, and the disaster he was as a central banker has nothing to do with his previous association with Ayn Rand.
+1984

[Brian4Liberty]

He mentions her in both End the Fed ( a lot) and Revolution: A Manifesto.

My bad. I loaned both out before fully reading them myself. And I haven't gotten them back! ;)

I have read a lot more of his "Texas Straight Talk" over the years...

[KurtBoyer25L]

Two most important points to remember:

1) Ayn Rand, love her or hate her, was very very misunderstood. Sometimes, I think she was happier being misunderstood. She had her own way of putting things that the rest of us take for granted.

2) Ron Paul is an individual and should be judged on his own statements and actions.

[jmdrake]

You really have to read Atlas Shrugged or some objectivist literature. 9 out of 10 people on this forum don't really understand her philosophy.

If Ayn is ever running for president I might consider that. ;) Seriously, if I understand Ron Paul's philosophy do I really need to understand Ayns? That said I'll eventually read the book and when the movie comes out on NetFlix I'll watch it, but that's really low on my priority list.



The point is that it's okay to seek wealth if that's what you want. You shouldn't have to worry about bureaucrats whining that you don't give enough. Ironically, they're the ones who are truly being greedy because they want something for nothing.


I didn't say it wasn't okay. But if you're seeking wealth just for the sake of wealth that's pretty shallow IMO. I want to be wealthy. But mainly because of what I would want to do with my wealth. Back in 2007/2008 there were people who were advocating maxing out credit cards to donate to Ron Paul. I didn't say anything, but I thought "What an incredibly stupid idea". It would be better if those same people had stayed within their means and then done what they needed to between then and now to be independently wealthy. We don't need a "Ron Paul billionaire". We need thousands of "Ron Paul millionaires". Also the charity person in the trailer was not a bureaucrat (unless I'm missing something). Ron Paul's answer for what happens to the less fortunate once government is shrunk is that private charities can make up the difference. And here is Ayn Rand trashing private charities. Sorry, but I see this as undermining Ron Paul rather than helping him.



I agree, she was wrong about that, along with many other things. But just as Ron Paul can embrace parts of her philosophy without embracing all of it, you can respect most of Ayn Rand's work without respecting everything she ever said.


Well I don't respect the "greed is good" and "private charities are evil" philosophy that I picked up from the trailer. I prefer a "cheerful giver" type philosophy. I'll help the unfortunate when I can with the goal of them becoming independent. If others don't want to help me do that, that's their business, but don't expect me to applaud them for that.




See, you don't know the context. Rearden invented a new metal that is twice as strong and twice as light as steel. It is greatest accomplishment, his life's work. And the first thing made of that metal was the bracelet he gave to his wife. But she still didn't appreciate it.

Ummm....I did know the context. It was obvious from the trailer that he was proud of his work. That said, as someone who's been married over a decade I saw that as a dumb move on his part. I'm sure he meant well by it, but it was still a dumb move. It reminds me of the guy I heard call into a radio show and said he gave he wife 4 megabytes of RAM (back when that was really expensive) for an anniversary present and it didn't go over too well. Rearden saw this as "Maybe my wife will appreciate me". His wife saw it as "All he cares about is his damn company. I've been benignly neglected all of this time and now he wants to make up for it by giving me some metal?" Of course it's already clear that Ayn Rand fails as a marriage counselor. :p

[BuddyRey]

For the last time, Ayn Rand was NOT a libertarian. She detested libertarians, calling them "hippies of the right", and accused them of stealing her ideas, even though libertarianism has been around in some form or another since the 16th century, and she herself stole countless ideas outright from Isabel Paterson and Garrett Garet.

[Icymudpuppy]

I know a fellow trapper who is happily married. Every year he gives her a new fur coat made from his catches. She loves those coats. Rearden's wife should have seen the real value of such a heartfelt personal gift. Don't you like better the gifts that someone made for you themselves over those bought at a store? I do.

[Aratus]

ayn rand was not a communist. i state the obvious.
ayn rand to a lesser degree is not a new deal Democrat.
ayn rand could be very opinionated and acerbic. i state the obvious.