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Who the fuck cares
Yada yada, typical smear job on Libertarians. Here's Penn Jillette's viewpoint:
"It's amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the government give poor people money is compassion. Helping poor and suffering people is compassion. Voting for our government to use guns to give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral self-righteous bullying laziness."
I would add mad with it. She was paranoid, manipulative and power hungry and if you look at the history of Objectivism and the interractions it is kind of scary. She refused to accept any argument and publicly rejected and humiliated members of her group that challenged her on any points. Out of curiosity I read Atlas Shrugged a few years ago and it was a very strange experience. I found myself getting very caught up in her rhetoric and despite the huge flaws I wanted to believe in her and John Galt.
She is a major influence on what is called the libertarian thinking because she preaches greed, avarice and private gain at any and all cost - things the libertarians hold dear despite their ultimate cost.
Don't blame me, I voted Green.
Yeah calling her a fascist was a bit of a half-asleep pre-coffee emotive reaction.
On the twin axis political quadrant Ayn Rand is about as far right and as far Libertarian as you can get. That far right position does mean she does share some concepts and ideas with Hitler - but doesn't mean she is a fascist (which is far right Totalitarian).
Me, I'm far left and a fair way down the Libertarian scale - so I do share some of Ayn Rand's ideas .. but I'm a complete left-wing anarchist ... unlike Rand I believe we do have responsibilities towards out society and our fellow human beings - which Rand denies ..
"So if you meet me, have some sympathy, have some courtesy, have some taste ..."
"So if you meet me, have some sympathy, have some courtesy, have some taste ..."
You need to look past the simple definition of fascism to the underlying philosophical intentions of its proponents. Fascism is about the creation of absolute power controlled by a small and defined group, and whether that group is a totalitarian state or a small body of immensely wealthy individuals makes little difference. Fascism also seeks to remove those it considers weak or inferior from society through social Darwinism - very Ayn Rand. Fascism sees the market economy and the profit motive as having supremacy and believes all property should be privately owned. Extend that thinking and you have plutocracy which in turn is a modern form of feudalism which is absolute power and totalitarianism.
The interesting thing about Ayn Rand and libertarianism is the way they sweep people up, and manage to make the people they are feeding off believe that they are the elite even when all evidence is to the contrary.
Don't blame me, I voted Green.
Greed and the fear of losing what you have are very primal and effective tools of the right. "Those lazy beneficiaries - it's YOUR taxes they're spending at the pub you know" or "look at all those hundreds of politicians and the lazy blood sucking bureaucrats in Wellington - we need a smaller parliament and less paper shufflers". Nobody looks at how little the evil, lazy scum on the dole cost you and I or the size of our parliament is compared to comparable countries, and they whine like crazy when government departments don't deliver.
Don't blame me, I voted Green.
Yeah maybe - Rand's ideal would be a Government free zone - not organisation and no controls - without any of that there can be no absolute power ...
Now she herself certainly exercised power ... so was she walking her talk? Doesn't look like it ... she does look more fascist when you see her actions, but totally libertarian in her philosophy ...
And her total believe in the rightness of her own beliefs and her expectation that everyone would share them is also pretty facsist - even left wing thinkers such as Jurgen Harbermas fall into that trap ..
But her position on the twin axis conceptualization means she shares a lot in common with the fascists - but also a lot in common with the anarchists - most anarchists would probably hate her for the parts of her thought that are fascist and most fascists would hate her for trhe parts of her thoughts that are libertarian ....
That's it exactly ..
"So if you meet me, have some sympathy, have some courtesy, have some taste ..."
Well, well, well, page 48 has certainly been one for the left, moving right (pun?) along to page 49 now and the real world!
"So if you meet me, have some sympathy, have some courtesy, have some taste ..."
Left wing, right wing - still the same fucking bird!
- He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.
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