| | Discussing the movie in another Topic, Kurt Eichert asked: Has Angelina Jolie changed? The reason I ask is that previously she was doing a show on MTV all about how terrible the 3rd world was and all the usual enviro leftist tripe.
It is a principle of Ayn Rand's formulation of Objectivism that you do not trade with your destroyers. If you think that Angelina Jolie's politics are difficult to accept, consider that about 20 years ago, Jane Fonda was considered for the same role. Does an actor's politics -- or a politician's acting -- define the value of their services in the marketplace?
In Merchants Make History, Ernst Samhaber says traders prosper on the principle that a good merchant does not argue religion with his client. Every consistent Objectivist knows that mysticism in others leads to your own death. So, why shop at a store owned by a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Buddhist --- or someone of any religion?
This has come up before. In a previous generation of Objectivists, the fanzines carried advertising for "Objectivist plumbers" and other services. The theory, of course, was that we would not sanction our destroyers; we would only deal with those who recognize our rights. That did not last very long. The markets work against exclusion. Boycotts fail.
The logical extension of that practice can be seen in the never-ending line of "new country" ventures in which Objectivists are supposed to pack up and go someplace to live free of oppression. Some such ventures might actually have been successful, but they are keeping the good news to themselves, of course. Whether they have emissaries attempting to persuade Bill Gates, Warren Buffett or Oprah Winfrey remains to be revealed.
Although we like to think that an "integrated" personality makes you a better person, it is not clear that being able to derive the efficacy of romantic art from the law of identity makes you a better plumber.
More disturbing is the fact that -- as explained by Eric Hoffer in The True Believer -- the people who are attracted to mass movements are society's losers. Unable to support themselves in the open market, they blame others -- capitalists; Jews; atheists; liberals -- for their shortfalls. Such people usually do not make good plumbers -- though sometimes they do. Thus, the ideologically correct craftsman may be worse than the range of the moment pragmatist alltruist -- or perhaps not...
The way to select a good craftsman is to rely on the general market and a clear definition of your needs.
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