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Ayn Rand's Influence on the 21st Century

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posted on May, 26 2015 @ 02:51 PM
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Greetings, everyone...

With all the discord and hatred and mudslinging going on in our world today, I decided to do some indepth research.
I had, of course, heard of her - but I did not know what exactly she thought and taught.

I know that many members here are fans of hers, and in my awareness they (you) are Conservatives and Libertarians. Perhaps I am mistaken, but - there are also many of them (you) who are very devout Christians. Currently I am taking a course at aynrand.org, a freshly hatched open education site that proffers deep-level understanding of what she stood for. She was very much against Christianity and faith of any kind.

I find she was also a callous, twisted person. She champions the "Robber Barons" (JPMorgan, for example) and blames the depression on the Government for regulation.....totally ignoring the pathetic conditions of the time, and how workhouses and laborers and children were treated. None at all.

She's about selfishness, all the way.
And she thinks religion is a horrible thing.
I'm looking for dialogue with those who are followers, fans, or other interested parties; as we enter the pre-pre-presidential election. Am I understanding her as far as you know?

I have to post and dash, my family awaits me outside. But this is what I've been up to this afternoon. Anyone want to talk about her?
If her philosophy is not relevant at this moment, no one's is.

What do you think of her and the movement that lauds her?




edit on 5/26/2015 by BuzzyWigs because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 02:58 PM
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Never heard of the woman, but she sounds like our very own 'Katie Hopkins'.

I am intrigued now, so will do a bit of research myself. Thanks for the heads up.

Edit- Just read her wiki page, very interesting and nothing like 'Katie Hopkins' career wise. Also very interesting company she kept when she moved to NY.
edit on 26/5/15 by Cobaltic1978 because: (no reason given)


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posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:02 PM
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A friends mom gave me The fountainhead to read a long time ago. Decent enough book simply because it kept me interested in the development of the story and characters. I hated the main character (hero) Howard Rourke, couldn't stand him at all.

Larter in life I had heard some disparaging comments about her other "classic" Atlas shrugged so I looked more into her as a person and got pretty much the same vibe off her that you did. Selfish, nasty old hag who liked to mingle with the well to do villains of the century.



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:05 PM
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a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is big fan of Ayn Rand.

A common theme driving innovation in Silicon Valley is disruption.

"Disruptive innovation — especially in regard to companies like Uber and Airbnb that are literally transforming transportation and housing laws — moves quickly, and relies on a lack of governmental intervention and the power of the free market. These principles are particularly Randian."

www.businessinsider.com...


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posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:06 PM
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a reply to: BuzzyWigs

L. Ron Hubbard isn't the only science fiction author to attract, weak minded souls into a cult like following. Ayn Rand is no different or no better. The fact that Christians follow her message shows how little one knows Christ, but just claim a label, perhaps its glamorous to do so.

She was a very misguided person guiding millions of others off the morality cliff, IMO.


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posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:06 PM
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a reply to: BuzzyWigs

She was an anti-totalitarian. At least with respect to her public comments. I have yet to read her fiction.

"A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others."

"Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual)."

"It only stands to reason that where there's sacrifice, there's someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there's service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master."

"There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws."

-Ayn Rand



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:08 PM
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Not really much to say. To me she is a very confused unempathetic person with a hint of bad boy complex. She is the type that say narcissistic greed is good no matter the consequences and that people like Monsanto owners know what they are doing even while causing environmental disasters.



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:09 PM
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a reply to: Cobaltic1978 there was a good Adam Curtis on a few years ago about Rands influence. It's a good documentary like all of Adam curtis documentaries it's called all watched over by machines
Of loving grace. Worth a watch if you've got the time vimeo.com...



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:16 PM
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a reply to: woodwardjnr

Cheers mate, I will be sure to look out for it.



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:22 PM
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I am not a Christian but I did enjoy Atlas Shrugged. As someone who owned several businesses the amount of taxes, regulation and overall superfluous expenses we had to deal with makes some of what she wrote about far easier to understand than a non-business owner.



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:28 PM
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I've never read any Rand.

I only know there is no charity when force is involved.


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posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:33 PM
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a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Socio-political movements like Marxism create people like Ayn Rand. She grew up in a Russia where an individual had no compelling reason to put forth more than the bare minimum of effort. There were no gains for those who worked hard and put pride in their lives. She grew up in a socialist experiment which would fail some 60 years after she escaped. It really is no great surprise that she, and many other Russian emigrants from that era, went as far to the other side of the socialist trap as they could. Bringing it back to today, it's really no surprise to see so many Americans embracing her views, as America is quickly heading towards its own failed experiment with socialism... at least upper middle class and below.



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:42 PM
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I watched the first two movie parts of Atlas Shrugged and read the third part in her book and saw the Fountainhead, the old Gary Cooper movie as well. From the Fountainhead I took her main statement to be that a man should stand by he beliefs and be unshakable as to compromise which I certainly value. From Atlas the idea that the mega-wealthy elites and the parasitic political sellout government that steal all they can from the people AND the corporations is only half right as the corporations are the true ultimate masters and in fact OWN all other classes. Those who create go off and create their own world devoid of the parasites was interesting fiction, but in reality they all just sell out as well. She was a strange write, very difficult as she would take a paragraph to write what could be accomplished in a mere sentence. I also watched a You Tube interview with a chain smoking Mike Wallace:

www.youtube.com...

that gave a good impression of what and who she actually was. I would say that she was an obvious creation of her circumstances and not exactly someone that I would consider especially good at what she did, but to each his own they say and there is certain value in her work if you can wade through the swamp of verbosity which she put forth.


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posted on May, 26 2015 @ 03:45 PM
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Ayn Rand was the ultimate hypocrite....

Always pimping personal responsibility and railing against the "welfare state" and all the while receiving Social Security and Medicare. Medicare because of her illness resulting from her smoking.

www.salon.com...


reason.com...


www.cracked.com...
edit on 26-5-2015 by olaru12 because: (no reason given)

edit on 26-5-2015 by olaru12 because: (no reason given)



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 04:01 PM
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a reply to: burdman30ott6


Socio-political movements like Marxism create people like Ayn Rand.

That's true enough. Her family took some real hits when she was young. Funny - Marxism wouldn't have happened without the Czar and the situation in Russia at the time. Seems extreme situations create extreme reactions. In individuals and in movements


Bringing it back to today, it's really no surprise to see so many Americans embracing her views, as America is quickly heading towards its own failed experiment with socialism...

Wonder what comes next?

"May God bless and keep the Czar ... far away from us."

:-)



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 04:12 PM
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I know nothing about her, so thanks for the thread BuzzyWigs.

All I know is that the extremist right and extremist left are very similar in their blind ignorance.



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 04:20 PM
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originally posted by: LDragonFire
a reply to: BuzzyWigs

L. Ron Hubbard isn't the only science fiction author to attract, weak minded souls into a cult like following. Ayn Rand is no different or no better. The fact that Christians follow her message shows how little one knows Christ, but just claim a label, perhaps its glamorous to do so.

She was a very misguided person guiding millions of others off the morality cliff, IMO.


Never met a Christian in my life that followed her. Did you meet one or two and chose to label all of them the same?

I never read her books, but watched the movies and they pretty much made me ill because that is exactly where we are heading!



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 04:21 PM
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a reply to: BuzzyWigs
I love quoting some of her statements, because they were right on, but yes, there were things about Ayn that just didn't stand up to scrutiny. S&F.



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 04:28 PM
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a reply to: seeker1963

They mistake a Christian for a Randian because we prefer the choice.

I'll use Obama's famous example of the kids with the sandwich and the teacher. I remember when Obama talked about being his brother's keeper and how if one kid had a sandwich and the other didn't the teacher should take the sandwich and divide it, and that was only the Christian thing to do.

For the Christian, this is wrong.

The kid with the sandwich, if he is Christian, should notice the kid next to him doesn't have any food and say, "Dude, would you like some of my sandwich." and offer up some of his lunch to share so neither goes hungry. That's charity and the kid freely makes the choice.

In Obama's example, the kid never makes the choice, so we never know if we would share or not. Instead, the teacher (the state) confiscates his lunch to be redistributed. It's done by force and no one freely gives. There is no charity.

So because a Christian would call Obama's example flawed and wrong, they assume we are all for the kid keeping his lunch and ignoring the kid without and lump us in with completely self-interested Randians. They miss the distinction between the element of liberty and the lack of same.



posted on May, 26 2015 @ 04:30 PM
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a reply to: BuzzyWigs

Many years ago I read Atlas Shrugged and I thought it was mildly entertaining and a bit narcissistic. It did have some fair points, but it also had some serious flaws of reasoning as well.

Last year I sat and watched the Atlas Shrugged trilogy and it was a back to back train wreck with guest appearances from FOX news affiliates. The term so bad it is sort of good applied.

I have never seen a trilogy before where none of the actors from the first movie stayed for the second and none from the second stayed for the third excluding FOX News celebrities. The beastmaster trilogy had better production quality. It was close to being a comedy. lol




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