| | Jules,
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!
Michael,
Rand said that if the country goes to hell, it will be the fault of the conservatives -- who will let go of altruism and therefore never successfully defend capitalism. For example, David Frum and David Brooks now say that we have to take a look at "income inequality." Question: Did any conservative before 1960 ever talk like that?
David Brooks partially redeems himself by adding that we have to look at entrepreneurship, and how it is advanced or thwarted among various collectives. But imagine a quota system for entrepreneurship. This takes "You didn't build that!" to a whole new level:
You didn't invent that!
Dan,
I think it's a little crazy to think that is true for most people (which I think includes even Obama). Basically, there are a rare number of Toohey's, and a bunch of sheep who think that emotional insight is good enough to justify their positions. Good analysis of liberalism wherein "emotional insight" -- the kind of thing appealed to in the nomination to the Supreme Court of Sonia Sotomayor -- is considered an epistemological "gold standard" trumping even evidence-based reasoning. Obama may merely be a speech-giver, as Michael Marotta says in another current thread, but I disagree with you that he's not on-board with the enterprise of playing the stock market of the human spirit, and selling short.* If he's not a Marxist, he's empty inside. There is no other way you could give those speeches. Rand told Phil Donahue that Jimmy Carter either had no ideas or no feelings (one or the other). While that was colloquial, I think she was pointing at something really true. Obama is like that (only worse).
Ed
*In The Fountainhead, Rand has Toohey say that he plays the stock market of the human spirit, adding that he sells short.
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