Manfred F. Schieder

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A brief description: My full name is Manfred Friedrich Schieder, I was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, towards the end of 1937, as the son of an Austrian father and a German mother who were themselves children of emigrants who went to Argentina during the 20’s when so many Europeans emigrated to the States, South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, etc.

I left my country of birth in 1985 with my wife and our son to establish ourselves in Vienna, Austria (No kangaroos here, excepting our world famous Zoo, if you excuse the typical Viennese joke, but many delicious pastries everywhere!).

Prior to leaving Argentina, at the beginning of the 80’s, I was able to introduce there the ideas of Objectivism through a long series of articles in Argentine newspapers and magazines as well as with conferences and lectures. Shortly before leaving I translated “The Virtue of Selfishness” into Spanish (the first translation into another language of an Ayn Rand non-fiction work) and, with the help of friends interested in the Objectivist ideas, published it and sold it there as “La Virtud del Egoismo”.

During the last 20 years I had little time to dedicate myself to Objectivism, excepting the writing of articles for Argentina, an activity which, however, subsided with time since establishing in a new country is quite a job, though a satisfying one at that.

In the meantime, however, and in spite of the political turmoils and ups and downs in Argentina, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of Objectivism and the further ideas on liberty and personal freedom (Ludwig von Mises, etc.) was established in Buenos Aires. Their promoters have a very active Webpage (www.atlas.org.ar) and dictate seminars and lectures in Argentine universities with such a good success that they are becoming very uncomfortable for the left-leaning government who is deciding whether to leave them in peace or close them for bad.

Separately a book publishing company of Buenos Aires prepared a translation into Spanish of “Atlas Shrugged” (“La Rebelión de Atlas”) and published a de luxe edition which sold the 20.000 copies issued in less than one month. Further editions are now rolling on with a similar triumph and plans are ahead to publish Spanish versions of “The Fountainhead”, “Anthem” and, again, “Virtue”. Parallel to this they published a personal organizer for 2005 celebrating “The Year of Ayn Rand”. I participated with introductory notes in Spanish and English language. The publishing house has a very fine Webpage (www.larebeliondeatlas.com), several of whose pages can be read in English. It contains also one of my earlier articles (“Ayn Rand y las Tranqueras”), the translation being “Ayn Rand and the Fences”. The title is based on the fact that Argentina is a cattle breeding country but you can imagine what intellectual fences I mean.

Right now I am starting to collaborate with a German Objectivist Webpage with a translation of another article I wrote in Argentina (“Ayn Rand und die Gleichschaltung des Bürgers”), that is “A. R. and the Gleichschaltung (enforced conformity) of the Individual”.

For a 66 year old man who is no longer active I think I am still functioning very well to defend and promote the glorious ideas of that greatest of all geniuses past present and future that called herself Ayn Rand.

For issues that develop into a discussion or debate between a rational and an irrational position I follow, as a man of goodwill and patience who doesn’t believe that it is necessary to immediately pull out the “heavy ammunition” arguments, Mr. Goldfinger’s statement in Ian Fleming’s homonymous novel:

             “They have a saying in Chicago, Mr. Bond,

              Once it’s happenstance,

              Twice it’s coincidence,

              The third time it’s enemy action.”

Body in Mind - [NOT SAFE FOR WORK] An online gallery dedicated to "creating super beautiful images of women by adding the glow of morality to the female nude." The site also includes some Objectivist-inspired writing on the admiration and appreciation of beautiful women. (Added by Andrew Bissell on 9/13/2004, 8:16pm)