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Friday
April 6, 2007

Ayn Rand, Libertarianism, and ARI by Tibor R. Machan

In a recent letter to the editor to The Los Angeles Times, Jeff Britting of the Ayn Rand Institute writes as follows:
"Ayn Rand did not write novels of "uncompromising libertarianism." In her view, libertarianism has no philosophy to uphold uncompromisingly.
Libertarianism rejects the need for a consistent, objective, philosophic defense of liberty and regards politics as primary. Rand was a defender of reason and recognized that political freedom requires a philosophy of reason and egoism. That is why Rand repeatedly condemned the libertarian movement, regarding herself, instead, as a "radical for capitalism." For further explanation, see Rand's novel of uncompromising objectivist, not libertarian, ideas — "Atlas Shrugged" — celebrating its 50th anniversary this year." (Letters, March 30, 2007) (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (84 messages)

Friday, April 27, 2007 - 10:18am

Economically, there's no question the USA is far more mixed between capitalism and socialism today than it was, for instance, a century ago in 1900.
I think that that's a fair statement. The USA in 1900 was more moral than it is now (our natural, individual rights were protected more then -- than they are now). We've changed for the worse.

Ed

Sunday, May 6, 2007 - 12:32pm

Ed,

"The USA in 1900 was more moral than it is now (our natural, individual rights were protected more then -- than they are now). We've changed for the worse."

I don't think you can demonstrate that to be true. The world is enormously different now than in 1900. Most of the differences are positive. The stage was being set then for Communism, Nazism, socialism in the U.S. Most of the ideas of that era that caused these disasters to happen have been discredited. The average world citizen is smarter now than then. It is possible to be more hopeful now than early in the 20th Century. Technology and science have taken huge leaps, it's only a matter of time that the increase in productivity and knowledge raises the standard of living to the point where most people will no longer risk their present lives for some ideological theory.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 6:33pm

Correct me if I'm wrong here but, in 1900, if you 'owned' a house and some land it was on, you OWNED both! You owed NO 'rent' to the govt. for either.
~ Nowadays, if you, with your 'owning' of your home/land, DON'T pay the annual (and ever-increasing) taxes based on some bureaucrat's 'estimable worth' of it, you get evicted and a favored bank gets control of it. (Spare me that one can fight it in the 'Tax Courts.')
~ NO ONE 'owns' (in the original, as well as the Randian, meaning) their land or home in America nowadays. --- Only the (pick your level: State/Fed) Gov't does. Technically, we're all serfs now.

LLAP
J:D

Sunday, June 3, 2007 - 8:20pm

Mike I have to agree with Ed and John as regards to the law at that time. You would have to object that the intellectual trend was in the wrong direction back then. Do you think the intellectrual trend now is better or worse?

Ted