Yet another thing Rand was good on. No offense quasi-mystical/collectivist types who “take pride in” belonging to ethnic, religious etc. groups like atavistic cavemen. Racism Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism. It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political significance to a man’s genetic lineage—the notion that a man’s […]
Early in Atlas Shrugged there is a scene of Dagny Taggart on a train, dozing; she hears some guy whistling a tune she knows must be from the composer Halley; she asks him what it is, he says it’s Halley’s 5th Concerto. “But he didn’t write one,” she says; the boy realizes he’s let the […]
A “friend” and I were discussing Rand — he said that though Rand said she opposed taxes, “eliminating taxes is among the last reforms Rand would make”. I don’t recall this–instead, I seem to recall she said this about abolishing drug prohibition. Anyone know where there is a cite or quote for either contention?
In a recent excellent facebook post by Quee Nelson (see appended below), she wrote: Some of my best friends are Randians. They’re excellent people, and one of the things I love most about them (among many things), is the fact that, no matter how generous, compassionate, and charitable they behave, they insist they’re just being […]
Objectivists say they are against taxation; they say that you can fund a state by some kind of contract fee or lottery system. Obviously, you can’t, not without the state compelling membership or outlawing competitors, which permits them to charge monopoly prices which amounts to a tax. But Objectivists are strongly pro-intellectual property (see Why […]
From Mises blog: Mises and Rand (and Rothbard) February 4, 2005 8:35 PM by Stephan Kinsella (Archive) In a recent thread, a commentator (Feirman) wrote: “Rand herself didn’t agree with everything Mises wrote, such as his a priori methodology, subjectivism and utilitarianism, and I am sure that other Randians pick bones with other of his […]
From Internet Archive: Speaking only for himself, J. Morton Spindle, Jr. suggests that it’s not always nice to be nice. The “Benevolent Rape” Scene? Being a Judicious Inquiry into the Proper Parameters of Benevolence as Manifested in the So-called “Rape” Scene of Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead by J. Morton Spindle, Jr. (First published on TDO […]
Objectivism Schism Form Letter [old link; archived] Posted by Stephan Kinsella on June 18, 2006 04:25 PM I’ve noted before [archived link] Randians’ bizarre practice of “officially” “breaking” with one another (other comments on this). Now some Objectivists who actually have a sense of humor have made up an “Official Solo Schism Form Letter”. Funny stuff. […]
Business and State Posted by Stephan Kinsella on January 6, 2005 11:39 AM Rand said big business is America’s most persecuted minority, or something like that. Bah. They are in bed with the state big-time. As reported in Tech Firms Aim to Change Copyright Act, Several of the world’s largest high-tech corporations plan to urge […]
It is clear to anyone who pays attention that IP is under assault–both institutionally, as digital copying, encryption, distributed information, the Internet, and the inherent impotence of IP policing make attempts to monopolize information patterns increasingly futile; and intellectually, as more and more people, especially libertarians–and especially younger libertarians–see the injustice of IP made manifest […]
