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Politics : The Trump Presidency -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (3074)	12/22/2016 12:35:56 PM
From: Cautious_Optimist	Respond to of 362592

We need to have a discussion of Objectivism. My RW brother refuses to believe that Rand was an atheist. Confirmation bias. He, like many religio Republicans, cant handle the truth. Paul Ryan flipflopped on her and lied about his loyalty to her philosophy, when he rose to national prominence. en.wikipedia.org ...the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness (rational self-interest), that the only social system consistent with this morality is one that displays full respect for individual rights embodied in laissez-faire capitalism What would Jesus think of that??

To: bentway who wrote (3074)	12/22/2016 2:32:26 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 362592

I'm not aware of any (D) Rand fans, while there are many (R) Rand fans. I am not aware of any politician from either party who models anything recognizable to me as coming from Rand. Nor do I know nor have I ever known any Rand fans. I find it interesting that you know so many. After fifty years, the following list is what I recall taking from Rand, things I think are worth considering. (You will notice that greed is not on the list.) Atheism is a positive because it supports reason. Reason produces the most robust results. The marketplace is the best tool we have for fostering and optimizing the development of ideas and products. The marketplace is the best tool we have for determining value. Capitalism is the economically efficient way to utilize resources. Socialism is doomed to failure due to bad incentives that create dead weight that drags the standard of living down. There are individuals in a society that create big time. They generate ideas and wealth and quality-of-life improvements. Society needs them. We hobble them or disrespect them at our peril. It's called killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Altruism is a myth. People are naturally and unavoidably self-centered. Acts of supposed altruism are self-serving at their essence. We tell ourselves otherwise but we do them to feel good about ourselves or to make us look good to others. Treating it otherwise gets thinking off on the wrong foot. *Central planning/control does not produce what people need. People know best what works for them. Things work best when individuals make their own choices. Well-meaning others are at best a poor proxy. Seems to me that it's best to consider those things without the distraction of Rand let alone parties and politicians and the hype and distortion of partisanship. My general way of looking at things leans towards a systems approach--clean, natural, effective, and robust. Rand's stuff supports that. That's why it resonated with me, although I didn't recognize that at the time. It also nicely complements life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.