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Does Objectivism make any sense? Why have sales of Atlas Shrugged have gone up in a recession? Does Ayn Rand know something we don't?
The debate about objectivism Colbert Style. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/221335/march-11-2009/the-word---rand-illusion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)
http://www.nndb.com/people/097/000030007/ayn-rand-wtl_big.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)
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Ayn Rand's philosophy is appealing to people who feel powerless, disenfranchised, especially if they feel they are smarter than others but just can't get ahead because the system keeps taking away their stuff and giving it to those who are less deserving. Pretty much everyone feels this way once in a while.
The system as a whole only makes sense if it were true that those who accomplish the most do it because of some inherent merit. In fact, empirical studies show that opportunity and socio-economic advantages count for more than either intelligence or desire. See Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers for a thorough discussion of this issue.
The system as a whole only makes sense if it were true that those who accomplish the most do it because of some inherent merit. In fact, empirical studies show that opportunity and socio-economic advantages count for more than either intelligence or desire. See Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers for a thorough discussion of this issue.
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Great answer. I totally agree with you that merit and success are not necessarily related. Ayn Rand is interesting because she's Russian. I don't think people take her message in that context. She wrote the novel in the 1950s when Communism was in full swing. I think if you take it in context, her message makes more sense rather than in a system like ours where the government has some legitimacy.
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