Quote:
Originally posted by maddemon802
Lurkette, I'm curious as to what you hated about Ayn Rand's philosophy...My only reservation was that she claimed to be content, but seemed like quite the bitter bitch(pardon my french) to me.
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To be honest it's been a looooong time since I read any Rand (had to read The Fountainhead in 8th grade or something) and since then my only exposure to her has been other peoples' use of her arguments. So really, I'm objecting more to an interpretation of her philosophy than the philosophy itself.
That said, I usually object to how her philosophy is used by conservatives to justify rampant individualism. As Skinbag said, there's no recognition of interdpendence, and "what's good for me" usually stops, rather short-sightedly, with immediate cause-and-effect. There's no recognition, usually, in the application of Rand, of the systemic nature of our society and of the long-term consequences of aggregated individual actions. More money for me = good. Immediate, visible consequence. That completely neglects any sort of larger picture. Social programs, for example, might take some money out of my pocket now but a GOOD social program (e.g., a well-run and accountable Head Start program) would use that money to further a social good (literacy for poor children) that in the end would result in less money out of my pocket (e.g., higher cost of jailing criminals who turned to crime because of lack of education and therefore lack of job opportunities).
Anyhow, that's my poor understanding of Rand and how she's applied.