cappytan, I loved The Selfish Gene. I read it soon after my disfellowshipping.
Ayn Rand - Opinions?
by cappytan 80 Replies latest jw friends
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Oubliette
Faye: One can enjoy reading an author without agreeing with all of their ideologies.
Amen to that!
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Viviane
One can enjoy reading an author without agreeing with all of their ideologies.
Of course. I was just commenting on how poorly written Anthem was.
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Oubliette
Viviane, I would agree that Rand was not the most polished or eloquent writer.
Are you familiar with Lois Lowry's book, The Giver? Although it's written at a lower level and with better story structure and style, It's clearly derivative.
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Separation of Powers
When Nietzche got out of the shower, his mirror was fogged over...when he wiped it clean of every vestige of moisture, he saw Ayn Rand staring back at him. Their philosophies are so much the same, one muted over by convention, the other a blatant attempt at self-promotion -
breakfast of champions
I've heard Rand described as a self-absorbed bitch. . .. .
But then again I've heard that Russell (Bertrand - not C.T.!) was a self-absorbed bastard.
I honestly have no hard opinion on this.
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scary21
I loved Atlas Shrugged. Everyone should read it, unless you hate thinking. IMO people that hate her but have never read her books and for sure at least Atlas Shrugged.....Well they remind me of JW's that don't believe in evolution but refuse to study it. Read the book and THEN make up your mind.
I believe when people work hard they should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and when it becomes easier to not work because you lose your food stamps, your rent goes up, and you lose your heath insurance, there is going to be a problem. I can't tell you how many people I know that are in that position,
When there are less and less workers paying taxes to support these people what will happen? When people loose their incentive to work it's not a good thing.
I am not against charity for people in need and contribute a lot of money.
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Wasanelder Once
We never got along.
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Viviane
I loved Atlas Shrugged. Everyone should read it, unless you hate thinking.
I did read it. I thought it was a hamfisted poorly written idiotic piece of crap dedicated to justifying being a selfish asshole dedicated to the proposition of "I got mine! Screw you!"
Interestingly, Ayn Rand, after preach for years about self reliance and not taking anything and how handouts were for losers and government assistance was for the weak, ended up on social benefits. She was an idiotic hypocrite dedicated to fueling her own selfish desires no matter who it hurt and was only able to do that through the support of others and government. Ayn Rand was, in a word, shit.
I believe when people work hard they should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor and when it becomes easier to not work because you lose your food stamps, your rent goes up, and you lose your heath insurance, there is going to be a problem. I can't tell you how many people I know that are in that position,
Objectivism has nothing to do with any of that.Health insurance is anathema to objectivism. That makes you a weakling reliant on others in Ayn Rand's philosophy. The fruits of your labor are only deserved if you screw over everyone else to selfishly get it.
When there are less and less workers paying taxes to support these people what will happen? When people loose their incentive to work it's not a good thing.
In the objectivist world, you would let those people die. After all, you got yours. Screw them. \
I am not against charity for people in need and contribute a lot of money.
Ayn Rand would call you a fool. It's quite interesting how many "fans" of Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, the Fountainhead and objectivism don't actually understand what it means in practice and taken to it's logical conclusion.
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Oubliette
Viviane: It's quite interesting how many "fans" of Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, the Fountainhead and objectivism don't actually understand what it means in practice and taken to it's logical conclusion.
It's not a requirement to agree with everything an author writes to nonetheless find some value or merit in their work.
It's been so long since I read either Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead that I don't remember much about them other than they were long and tedious.
However, I currently use Anthem as part of my curriculum with my high school students. I find it helpful for them to understand the central issue of collectivism vs. individualism. There are certainly many other books that describe dystopian societies and many do so more artfully. In some ways the stark style of Rand's writing makes it easier to see the central issues.
Many young people are familiar with The Hunger Games series and have seen recent movies such as Divergent and The Maze Runner. In many ways these stories are much more interesting, more engaging and the art of story-telling is far superior.
It is because of this, many students often miss the central issues. Also, Anthem is a fairly short work. For all of these reasons, I find it a good entrée to the genre for high school students. After we've read that and done a critical analysis it is easier to tackle more challenging pieces.
Other books in this vein I would recommend are:
- Nineteen Eighty-Four
- Animal Farm
- Fahrenheit 451
- The Giver