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| Culture of Corruption: The Legacy of Ayn Rand Posted by Luke Setzer on 1/25, 5:38am | ||
| Once again, a media pundit misrepresents Objectivism: We’ve had no moral relief in the intervening year. More high profile businessmen have appeared in court after looting their clients; the Senate majority leader booked on money laundering charges; Martha Stewart, style-setter -- in and out of jail and grinning for the cameras. Those petro giants’ profits while some poor could not afford to buy gas; other people lined up in droves to file bankruptcies. [ ... ] It was close to what Ayn Rand’s disciples have in mind, and I believe there are plenty of Rand’s disciples in places of high influence. Ayn Rand’s ideology, powerful since the 1940s, denies the common good. It actually prescribes not helping. In particular, selfishness and greed are virtues, altruism is a vice. A member of our local freethought list brought this to my attention in a sneering fashion, claiming that while he enjoyed her novels immensely, her ideas have no place in government. This same member is active in the local "Progressive Alliance" and has openly stated that, as a private citizen, "I am willing to threaten with fines, jail, lawsuits, etc. those who allow racism and sexism to affect their decision making in the hiring process." What bothers me about this article is how it conflates powerful business owners with dishonest ones. More to the point, it argues that Martha Stewart behaved immorally when she acted on so-called "insider" knowledge to defend her own interests. Finally, it assumes that the demonstrated incompetence of FEMA leaders resulted from greed rather than a worship of unreason. If some has the time to post a detailed refutation of each point in this article, you would do the world -- and yourself -- a favor. | ||
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