{"id":728,"date":"2014-05-27T09:08:51","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T16:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=728"},"modified":"2016-10-17T12:55:26","modified_gmt":"2016-10-17T19:55:26","slug":"why-ayn-rand-was-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=728","title":{"rendered":"Why Ayn Rand was wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\t

I’ve read a lot of her books: Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, We The Living, and also a few of the non-fiction works. \u00a0I found them inspiring and they’ve had an influence on my life. \u00a0And…I think she is mostly wrong regarding what our relationship should be with other people (which is an extremely important question).<\/p>\n\t

Her books are best thought of, not as philosophical statements, but as someone idealizing to the opposite of Lenin’s Russia after the Bolshevik revolution (which disrupted her previously\u00a0bourgeois lifestyle).<\/p>\n\t

Here are my thoughts on how Ayn Rand was mistaken:<\/p>\n\t

She misunderstood human nature. \u00a0She left out compassion and love.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

The heroes of her books are achievement oriented to a fault. \u00a0They do not help a fallen child (there are none written into the books); they do not reflect on their fortunate status as gifted individuals nor do they stop to consider how they can be of service to the rest of humanity unless it is through their own self-fulfillment.<\/p>\n\t

Humans need each other. \u00a0We succeed together and fail alone. Love and compassion are our highest values; this is supported by the history of human philosophy\/religion. \u00a0This question is often asked, especially when we are young (what is our obligation to others?)…however, the answer comes back the same each time: \u00a0We are all in this together.<\/p>\n\t

People need help and it is our highest calling to serve \u00a0others if we are fortunate enough to do so.<\/p>\n\t

There are no children in Rand’s books. \u00a0Any philosophy that fails to put that kind of love as central to interacting with people has missed the point.<\/p>\n\t

She was elitest.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

She wrote a book that might appeal to folks that are extremely gifted\/powerful as it would give them a moral justification for what is, essentially, \u00a0megalomaniacal behavior. \u00a0(That is why her books are so popular with some, though certainly not all, CEOs and Wall Street types. \u00a0In the history of thought, there aren’t many philosophies that so deftly promote selfishness as a virtue.)<\/p>\n\t

There is a particular passage in Atlas Shrugged where one of her heroes kills someone and it is glossed over as if it were just another sentence, because that is what she was promoting: \u00a0If you aren’t one of these prime movers then you don’t matter as much.<\/p>\n\t

\u00a0You cannot derive a moral philosophy from reason.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

The axioms must always be believed in. \u00a0Even in geometry you must essentially believe that two parallel lines never intersect. \u00a0If you don’t believe it, you can build up non-Euclidean geometry (which works as well).<\/p>\n\t

Also, “you cannot derive an ought from an is”. \u00a0Objectivism, if it contributes something to the history of thought, contributes a re-examination of very basic premises…which is a neat thought experiment (even if it is wrong).<\/p>\n\t

Rand uses the appeal to reason to give Objectivism a seemingly more objective basis. \u00a0It is the same though as other thought systems…not the same in a bad way, just the same in that all philosophical systems must start with basic premises…which need to be believed in.<\/p>\n\t

\u00a0Achievement is not our noblest activity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

If Edison didn’t invent the light bulb, we wouldn’t all be sitting around in the dark. \u00a0Anything you do can be done by others. \u00a0It is a legitimate question to ask yourself if you want to be the one to do it; however, achievement is a by-product of other motivations, not an end in itself.<\/p>\n\t

We stand on the shoulders of giants. \u00a0Rand writes about the achievements of her heroes as if they are a singular (can only be done by them), when really we are borrowing and learning from others that have come before us<\/a> and adding a grain of sand to the mountain of human knowledge.<\/p>\n\t

If there is anything to be had from achievement it is through what it offers to others in gaining it. \u00a0Achievement won’t fulfill the achiever, though how the achievement helps others might.<\/p>\n\t

“Going Galt?” \u00a0I doubt it.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t

In Galt’s Gulch the “takers” of the world have asked for too much and the “makers” (her heroes)\u00a0\u00a0secede from reality and move to Galt’s Gulch leaving the other 7 billion of us without our talented leaders. \u00a0What a complete miss on Rand’s part!<\/p>\n\t

The prime movers (if there even are such people) of this world would never leave us, because they need us. \u00a0We enable their success, achievement and power. \u00a0They are only special in relation to us. \u00a0They would most certainly not secede from the world. \u00a0Rand misunderstands the psyche of the real world equivalent of her heroes.<\/p>\n\t

Ayn Rand was a horrible economist. \u00a0<\/strong>She was dead wrong about\u00a0the gold standard and\u00a0laissez-faire capitalism.<\/p>\n\t

Rand might, as a writer\/philosopher, have been qualified to add good thought on human nature; however, she knew little to nothing about economics and was badly wrong on her glorification of the gold standard and\u00a0laissez-faire capitalism.<\/em><\/p>\n\t

The gold standard suffers from quantity issues, is subject to runs on the bank, prohibits flexibility in responding to crises\/business cycle, can also be debased, and does not promote growth any better than other monetary systems (e.g. fiat money). \u00a0Economics, even as the dismal science, has settled this question.<\/p>\n\t

And\u00a0laissez-faire capitalism? \u00a0You’ve got to be kidding me. \u00a0Do you want to eat food not cleared by the FDA (hello mad cow disease, e coli, etc.)? \u00a0Do you want an unregulated financial industry (that worked out great huh)? \u00a0Do you want privately owned roads (where would we be able to drive)? \u00a0 What about a court system or police protection only accessible for those with money? \u00a0I could go on and on here; this is a TERRIBLE idea.<\/p>\n\t

Government creates the playing field for the market economy that can often serve our needs. \u00a0The government is the market maker; if you leave it up to private industry to create something that benefits everyone….it does not work.<\/p>\n\t

Everywhere in history you see a “market” you will see government. \u00a0To speak of\u00a0\u00a0laissez-faire capitalism is largely just a thought experiment.<\/p>\n\t

\u00a0So, there you go. \u00a0I think Ayn Rand was wrong about some very important issues, which makes discussion of her philosophy, except as a foil to something else, difficult for me to entertain.<\/p>\n\t

There are some good things about Rand’s philosophy as well; I am just not going into them here because that isn’t the purpose of the post. \u00a0Maybe later.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve read a lot of her books: Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, We The Living, and also a few of the non-fiction works. \u00a0I found them inspiring and they’ve had an influence on my life. \u00a0And…I think she is mostly wrong regarding what our relationship should be with other people (which is an extremely important question). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0},"categories":[11],"tags":[81],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3IMYj-bK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=20","url_meta":{"origin":728,"position":0},"title":"Please Read…not this post, but in general.","author":"kellio","date":"October 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I read a lot when I was younger. I know people who still read religiously, and they, of course, have read more than me. Reading really changed my life though. It is one of the few things I can honestly say did. Most of my life would've happened anyway. I'm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inside My Head"","block_context":{"text":"Inside My Head","link":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":313,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=313","url_meta":{"origin":728,"position":1},"title":"Is Racism Ok? The issue with Libertarianism.","author":"kellio","date":"May 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Rand Paul has come under serious fire lately for his staunch libertarian stance on the Civil Rights Act.\u00a0 The basic gist is:\u00a0 Government doesn't need to interfere in a business's right to be racist if it wants.\u00a0 The market can decide; if people don't like racism, they won't shop at\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 1 comment","block_context":{"text":"With 1 comment","link":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=313#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":265,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=265","url_meta":{"origin":728,"position":2},"title":"Energy Efficiency, Corporate Person-hood, and Free Will","author":"kellio","date":"December 15, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"People and their values.\u00a0 Anyway, 1st up today is: Energy Efficiency It's a red herring.\u00a0 ENERGY EFFICIENCY WILL NOT AFFECT GLOBAL WARMING.\u00a0 It will make it worse. 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I want to draw a distinction between ethics and morals: Ethics is a set of rules, often set by a group, that defines right and wrong.\u00a0 Morals are our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inside My Head"","block_context":{"text":"Inside My Head","link":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47,"url":"http:\/\/chasingeden.com\/?p=47","url_meta":{"origin":728,"position":4},"title":"New scientific “truths”:","author":"kellio","date":"February 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"History Shows That Famous Thinkers Also Get It Wrong. 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