Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Marxbites
"Politically, I drifted to the Left and embraced the ideology that business and corporations were essentially 'evil' because they sought profits. I believed that government was 'good' (if the 'right' people had control of it) because it altruistically worked for the public interest."

Very succinct explanation of the socialist mind set. I wonder if he ever read Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged'?

18 posted on 06/13/2006 12:39:56 PM PDT by Donald Rumsfeld Fan ("fake but accurate": NY Times)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan

See the links I just posted - you'll like em.


23 posted on 06/13/2006 1:02:53 PM PDT by Marxbites (Freedom is the negation of Govt to the maximum extent possible. Today, Govt is the economy's virus.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies ]

To: Donald Rumsfeld Fan
Very succinct explanation of the socialist mind set. I wonder if he ever read Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged'?

Here's the link to the Liberty article. It seems he did read AS, along with a ton of other free-market books:

I stumbled into reading Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Ayn Rand — I read all of them. I said to myself, "Wow, this all makes sense. This is how the world really works. This is incredible." Then I became Laissez Faire Books' best customer for the next five years. I think I read every book in their catalog. If any of you in the audience have written books, I have probably read them.

...

How many of you have read Ayn Rand? How many of you have been influenced by her? "Atlas Shrugged" remains one of the five greatest novels I have ever read. Who can ever forget characters like Dagny Taggart, Hank Rearden, Francisco d'Anconia, from "Atlas Shrugged," as well as Howard Roark in "The Fountainhead"? These characters all demonstrated tremendous passions and drive, backed by high self-esteem. Each one inspired this young entrepreneur. I wanted to be just like those heroic characters in "Atlas Shrugged."

However, despite her literary greatness and many positive contributions to the freedom movement, I believe that Rand has also harmed the movement. How? She was overly...

...you'll have to read the article to find out. :-) I haven't read most of it yet - I printed it out for me & hubby to peruse tonight. It seems he's one of those aging-hippie libertarians many of us former LP'ers knew & loved. (Granted, he's an aging hippie libertarian who's the CEO of a $5 billion company, LOL!)

Anyway, this paragraph is truly inspiring:

What I love most about the freedom movement are the ideas of voluntary cooperation and spontaneous order when channeled through free markets, leading to the continuous evolution and progress of humanity. I believe that individual freedom in free markets, when combined with property rights through rule of law and ethical democratic government, results in societies that maximize prosperity and establish conditions that promote human happiness and well-being.

31 posted on 06/13/2006 3:57:59 PM PDT by jennyp (WHAT I'M READING NOW: "Code" by Petzold)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson