American Revolution circa 2008: Ayn Rand and her Objective Morality
Philosopher Ayn Rand, the Defender of Reason, Individualism, and Capitalism, could be the seed of America's Future Prosperity by Nickalis N. Tower
(libertarian)
Sunday, December 14, 2008
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
The essential core of libertarian political philosophy is that government cannot initiate force against its citizenry. By logical extension this means fraud is to be prohibited as well.
Today it is evident that America's political leadership is mounting its frauds and abuses against 'We the People'. With the initiation of force enacted under the Patriot Act, with the economic frauds of the current bailouts being promoted as the solution to saving American institutions of housing, banking, and manufacturing, with the fraud that government health care and social security will provide for the best health and financial opportunities for Americans in the future, it is high time that We the People, as individuals, start realizing that today's political philosophies are going to end up harming, looting, and killing more Americans than ever before.
We cannot trust the big government Democratic party to come up with a proper political ideology. They had 50 years until Reagan was elected, and they are responsible for over regulating and nationalizing the medical, housing, and manufacturing industries. We cannot trust the Republican party to come up with a proper political ideology, since they have demonstrated themselves to be big-government statists during the past 8 years in a manner far exceeding the prior collectivist power-grabs by the Democrats.
And I want to be wrong about President Elect Barack Obama and his 'change' administration (which appears to be changing us back to the same Clintonian big government agenda of 16 years ago), but I predict the collectivist looting and power grab of the past 8 years is only going to accelerate further during the next four years. (The reason why was outlined in my brief opposition article I wrote previously, " The FairTax is an unnecessary Federal Slave Tax ").
As a wise man once noted, the American political elite, along with their political capitalist cronies (my apologies gentlemen: am I mistaken here -- is it the politicians who are your cronies?), their political economist sycophants, their political academic robots, and their political media journalist wannabes are in a "final feeding frenzy" to consume the remaining values to be had in American society.
It is an inescapable fact: A man is one who acts on his rationality and depends on his own mind for existence. Lesser men rely on the rationality of others for their existence. The relationship between capitalism and statism is this: without the free market capitalists, neither statists nor political-pull "capitalists" could exist.
The world has been moved by philosophy for the past 2400 years, and unfortunately, it is Plato's philosophy that has dominated the political and ethical landscape.
The top enslaver of men and minds on earth has not been religion - as some mistaken and misguided atheists in Seattle Washington seem to believe today - it is the wrong philosophies that grew from the other-worldly philosophy of Plato.
If any libertarian is dissatisfied, angered, or nearly hopeless over the state of America today, or the state of the world today, then they must recognize and acknowledge that the world has been dominated by philosophies that glorify self sacrifice and 'higher causes' as a virtue.
If anyone concerned with politics is concerned with the state of the world, they need to learn enough about ethics and politics to discover what a proper form of government would be in America, and what principles should be guiding our leaders' actions in government.
Only a pro-individual philosophy in politics can oppose the pro-collectivist philosophies that exist in both parties of today's political monopoly in America.
And there has been only one pro-individual philosopher who has existed on earth during the last 2000 years.
Her name is Ayn Rand. In several other articles I've written on Nolan chart, I've extolled the virtues of this free thinking philosopher / bestselling novelist / proud first generation immigrant American.
In talking with people (even admirers) about Ayn Rand, I've realized that most people don't consider ideas seriously anymore. The problem with this attitude of not taking ethics and politics seriously is that good men and women abandon the whole field of ideas and political theory, and the criminal minds take them over.
If We the People want to continue being free individuals able to live by the sovereign judgment of our own minds, then we each have to live by a proper moral code, and we must demand that government respect Individual Rights as inalienable.
Our American government today is merely the reflection of the collectivist ethics too many in government have been promoting (and profiting by) during the past 140 years in America. Our American government today is merely the reflection of our own individual moral codes. More precisely, it is our lack of morality (the amoralists), or our theology (the religionists) that has been influencing American politics over the past 140 years.
To any person that believes that no absolute standards exist in morality, or that believes that moral standards exist 'beyond reality' (and are divinely appointed by someone floating in a cloud somewhere into our leaders), I say this: There is a third alternative to the dilemma of moral standards.
It is no longer necessary for you to doubt your own mind. It is no longer necessary to be in a quandary over what is a right or wrong action to take in furtherance of your life. Finally, you can have the personal benefit to be gained by achieving conceptual clarity to your own thinking and judgment. Finally you don't have to rely on anyone telling you what's best for your life, because you will be able to determine it for yourself.
Finally We the People can harness our own individual destinies, in spite of abusive government.
Finally We the People can declare our own independence from any flag that flies against individual rights.
Finally We the People can demand and remake our government to perform its only proper moral duty: defense of the individual and his earned property.
By understanding Ayn Rand's ethical philosophy, you can remake your life. By future political activists understanding Ayn Rand's ethical and political philosophy, we can remake and refound American government on an unshakeable individualist platform. One that is not amoral, nor depending on anyone's supernatural morality.
Regardless of whether you believe in the supernatural, such a refounding of American government on Ayn Rand's ethical theory will be the seed of its future prosperity. American government has been seeded with other ethical theories during the past 140 years. Look at the results. If we want something different tomorrow to take hold in our government, Ayn Rand will hold the key to that nonviolent and moral revolution.
Below are my notes on Ayn Rand's philosophy, as extracted from interviews that she had with Mike Wallace and Phil Donahue. Both interviews are linked below on YouTube.
Let's make the moral revolution grow. That nonviolent revolution began with the release of Ayn Rand's final and bestselling novel, in 1957, 'Atlas Shrugged'.
She recognized that revolution never begins in the streets, it begins in each participant's mind.
Whether you agree or disagree with Ayn Rand at all, the fact is that your government operates on a philosophy. And so long as American government operates on the philosophies of death, we will all continue to be drained, looted, and killed by our government. Ayn Rand offered 'a philosophy for living on earth'. How nice would it be to have a government that defended our lives and our free pursuit of our values?
Don't be afraid to learn about her views... instead be eager: because our collectivist government planners and politicians fear Ayn Rand's philosophy most of all. For it threatens their bogus careers in government.
Let the unemployment (and celebratory firing) of collectivist politicians begin! It all begins with each of us. And Ayn Rand's moral libertarianism.
Nick's Notes on The Ayn Rand interview / debate with Mike Wallace (links to video below)
Mike Wallace says if her philosophy "ever did take hold" in America, it "would revolutionize our lives".
She is the creator of a new code of morality, based not on faith, arbitrary whim, or emotion. A morality demonstrated to be true and necessary, which holds man's life (the individual's life) as the standard of value.
She considers altruism evil: the notion that it is the moral duty of a person to serve others. It is what makes man a sacrificial animal.
You cannot demand others give up their life to make you happy, nor should you sacrifice yourself to others.
Altruism as a moral code is impossible to follow, because it is anti-life.
Love for another person is not above one's self interest, but an integral part of it.
The currency in love is virtue. You love someone for the values, the virtue they have achieved, in their own character.
A person doesn't deserve love, but one can correct their flaws to earn it. People earn love by their virtues.
Americans see destruction all around us, and America is moving toward disaster because of the collectivist / socialist / welfare state.
Americans are economically enslaved 'everybody to everybody'.
She objects to the idea that people have the right to vote on everything.
The majority cannot vote a man's life, liberty, or property away from him.
There is nothing wrong with the democratic process in politics. Electing officials wouldn't change, the but the power of those officials should be strictly limited.
Those who initiate force (or fraud) will be opposed by government force. This is the only proper role of government.
Taxes are a form of initiatory force, and as such are immoral.
Nobody has the right (neither employers nor employees) to use the government to force people to do their bidding.
If the present collectivist trend and anti-reason philosophy continues, then American civilized society will experience disaster.
The majority ('We the People') have never been given a (democratic) choice between controls and freedom.
The original American collectivists in government were those political businessmen and political capitalists who used the government club to eliminate their competition and secure their monopolies.
She's opposed to all forms of government economic controls. She advocates complete separation of government and economics, for the same reason as separation of government and religion.
There is no reason why man should be "their brother's keeper". The world is perishing from attempts by government to force men to be "their brother's keeper".
History supports the fact that government interference creates economic depressions, not the free market.
No one man could ever get a monopoly on any resource considered 'precious' by society.
She says she 'has no faith at all, only convictions'.
She acknowledges an intellectual debt to Aristotle, and no other philosopher.
Nick's Notes on The Ayn Rand interview / debate with Phil Donahue (links to video below)
To earn and display rational pride is a virtue.
Pride is the experiencing of legitimate pleasure in one's own achievements.
Most men repress their feelings, and it causes unnecessary psychological pain. It also makes their women 'terribly unhappy'.
She admires Aristotle as the defender, upholder, and advocate of reason, and the father of logic. Plato was the opposite of Aristotle.
Sacrifice is giving up a higher value for a lesser value or non-value.
Taxes are used to sacrifice peoples' wealth for causes which they don't value.
Private charity is perfectly alright, as long as you are not sacrificing your values.
Disapproves of the social programs and economic interference of government as improper and sacrificial. Says the proper roles of government, police, law courts, and armed forces.
America should not have permitted Saudi Arabia or Iran to nationalize the oil fields we built for them. It was an inexcusable sacrifice of Americans to give up the oil we made possible and by contract to those countries, particularly since they now use their new wealth to attack us.
Regards as immoral the placing of emotions and feelings above the evidence of what your mind knows.
Altruism is the idea that sacrifice is the moral ideal for people to practice.
Politically, altruism has been used to claim that the individual in society can exist only when they serve others.
A person can want to help others and with very good reasons, but that is not altruism. It is the self-sacrificing person who is an altruist.
Whoever preaches altruism in politics is or wants to be the state, and seeks power over individuals.
Society owes no obligation to any one person. Society needs only to get out their way.
People should 'preach the idea' that human ability is a value.
She disapproves of religion because it relies on mysticism and faith instead of reason and evidence.
She notes that the soviet leadership were mystics that denied that man had neither a soul nor a mind.
People believe in a god not due to foolishness, but because of a psychological weakness. These people don't want to accept that their life is up to them.
The views expressed
in this article are those of Nickalis N. Tower only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
Nickalis N. Tower is solely responsible for the contents
of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated
with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Hey, Mr. I've-Got-All-the-Answers (or, at least I think Ayn Rand has),
Do I have the right to smoke pot if I want to? Do I have the right to help someone commit suicide if they ask me to? Do I have the right to marry another guy if we want to get married? Do I have the right to get an abortion if I decide to? Do I have the right to sell my handgun to someone who is a felon if I want to, or someone who says they want to commit a robbery? Do I have the right to buy booze before I'm 21? Do I have the right to drive any speed I want to, wherever I want to do it? Do I have the right to smoke cigarettes in a courtroom?
Or, why don't you tell me that I SHOULD have those rights, Mr. Let's-let-anyone-do-whatever-they-want-to-do-whenever-they-want-to-do-it. You see ~ Ayn Rand only works on paper ~ when she's writing the story. And, worshippers like you can't see past the treachery that her philosophy unleashes by not doing anything that isn't in her own self-interest.
Posted By: Timothy Allen
Date: 2008-12-17 12:21:12
"And there has been only one pro-individual philosopher who has existed on earth during the last 2000 years. Her name is Ayn Rand."
Well I don't think even Ayn Rand would agree with that. She often mentions those who she drew inspiration from with Aristotle and Victor Hugo being a few of her favorites.
As far as her theories only working paper, or in other words, a fictional universe that does not reflect reality, you are going to need to have a good logical proof ready or observations of a society that was actually set up with this philosophy in mind. Corporate America is a good place to start looking at what works and what doesn't. Be sure to keep in mind the enormous amount of regulations placed on the largest organizations. Look at each regulation and ask yourself, "What would happen without this regulation?" Even some of the true hearted liberals might find that they second guess themselves after looking at some of the more ridiculous regulations.
The writer's obviously on something. Making an absurd statement like "the FairTax is a Federal Slave Tax" shows his ignorance of reality. Another waste of Internet space.
The idea behind "Let's-let-anyone-do-whatever-they-want-to-do-whenever-they-want-to-do-it" is meant for a person with a logical thought process. Ask yourself, would you sell that man a handgun who said he intended to murder/rob/etc. ? If you answered yes then you do not think ethically.
The idea behind Rand-ian philosophy is to let free those who produce and govern those who work to damage that freedom. If you sell that gun, you permit evil to take place, thus you might as well have robbed/killed/etc. yourself. If you deny the sale, you have denied the presence of evil, and thus earned freedom.
While I agree that the Rand's philosophy are grand in stature and hard-put into reality, it is silly to stop there. Take note that a Rand-ian philosophy appeals to a group of people who do not question or wonder about their core ethics. We do not ask ourselves if we would sell that gun, we simply say No off the bat.
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