I just got done with reading Atlas Shrugged for the 5th time and I really like it and what she has to say about all philosophy and the workings of a rational human society.

explain it to us, please.

If I meh ...
Ayn Rand rote epuk storuhs abaht euth-movin hero-uk figuhs dat create, inspiuh an akwiuh a revolushunaruh followin in da wud o capitolism, wich make ah da industruhs wich make ah unions wich make ah da niggahs wich inherut yo-all hauses an swimmuh poos.

Dat bich wan muh dik, but she ded.

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Don't write checks your ass can't cash. -- JO4Miller.

But wasn't her phillosophy absurd? Egoistic Altruism (that's what her phillosophy actually is, she just gave it a different name) attempts to teach us that there are objective truths where none can actually be found.

Like, ya know, opinions. Or Art. How can someone who believes that Beethoven is simply SUPERIOR to Mozart ever be taken seriously.

Perhaps more to the point, Atlas Shrugged only seems brilliant because Rand oraganizes the entire fictional world she creates around her viewpoints. Any perspective is correct if you break all of human history and rebuild it to back up your view.

Saying it is good because you like it is circular reasoning. One of the first things you should have learned about logic while studying philosophy.

Basically, you have said nothing here.

Take some of Ayn Rand's points and test them in today's real world environment.

Like Agent_Grey rightly proposes:

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Hehetchetu. Wa uyun tinkte!

Oh come on guys, Rand was better than John Norman and his Gorean bullshit, at least.

Rand's core belief is that the world is divided into two camps, the individual and the collectivist. You can either chose to live your life for yourself or to be a slave to everyone else. John Galt's statement that he will live his life for no man and ask no man to live for him is the entire philosophy of Rand summed up in one sentence

To Rand capitalism is the only economic system that is consistant with true individual freedom and there can be no other kind of freedom other than individual. How can one have a collective freedom? Actually, to Rand capitalism takes precedence over any specific political system, be it democratic, republican, or monarchy as long as its based on free market capitalism.

Rand's philosophy, Objectivism, does not state you do not need others, it does not state you do not help others, it does not state that you do what you want no matter what. She does speak of "rational self interest". It may be in my self interest to feed the poor for a variety of reasons. Her position is that you make the choice to feed the poor, not the government. To Rand the only purpose of the government is to provide you with protection from foreign invasion and a court system to enforce the contracts you have freely make with other "traders"

Rand recognized in her book "Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal" that we have never had a completely capitalistic society. That, to her, did not mean it was not the ideal society and we should all strive to attain that ideal.

There are several beliefs of Ms Rand that I do not share, her belief in God for example, her belief that a husband owes nothing to his wife or children. However, for just about every other point of Objectivism I am one of her biggeset fans.

By the way, what the hell is Egotistical Altruism?????

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Its better to have fussed and crabbed then never to have fussed at all - Lucy

I do believe her philosophy doesn't really work in the "real world," yet I often use Objectivism as a benchmark against which I compare other philosophical ideas.

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Life is too short for endless patience.

Egoistic Altruisim was a school of phillosophy that taught rational self-interest long before Rand's "Objectivism" was coined for it.

Rand whining that we've never had a truly Capitalist society is no different than those who argue the same for Communism. Neither has ever had a perfect vacuum in which to prove its success over the other, and I don't particularly endorse either blindly. Which is more than I can say for Rand.

Rand's views on geschtalt versus individualist ethical standpoints might not be so bad, but she very adamantly argues that EVERYTHING can be broken down into a black and white analysis of its superiority to other things, that this is how the individual should make choices in the face of the world she seems to think would work best.

Capitalism is BETTER than Communism. Hands down. End of debate. No discussion.

Beethoven is BETTER than Mozart. Disagree? Shut up. Fuck you. I'm the individual and what I say is right.

Chocolate is BETTER than vanilla. Get rid of Vanilla. It's a lesser flavor for lesser men. Why? Because it's objective. I'm an objectivist and when I point out the objective truth, you better agree or get the hell out of my way.

This is why I find her laughable.

Really? She said those things?

No, she did not. She had no problem with people having their individual preferences, as long as they didn't impose them on anyone else.

Her problem with communism is that it's all about imposing restrictions on business relationship, while capitalism is always about entering into voluntary relationships with those whom you CHOOSE to do business.

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Life is too short for endless patience.