Posted on 04/14/2011 5:46:14 AM PDT by BCrago66
Tomorrow's release of the movie version of "Atlas Shrugged" is focusing attention on Ayn Rand's 1957 opus and the free-market ideas it espouses. Book sales for "Atlas" have always been brisk—and all the more so in the past few years, as actual events have mirrored Rand's nightmare vision of economic collapse amid massive government expansion. Conservatives are now hailing Rand as a tea party Nostradamus, hence the timing of the movie's premiere on tax day.
When Rand created the character of Wesley Mouch, it's as though she was anticipating Barney Frank (D., Mass). Mouch is the economic czar in "Atlas Shrugged" whose every move weakens the economy, which in turn gives him the excuse to demand broader powers. Mr. Frank steered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to disaster with mandates for more lending to low-income borrowers. After Fannie and Freddie collapsed under the weight of their subprime mortgage books, Mr. Frank proclaimed last year: "The way to cure that is to give us more authority." Mouch couldn't have said it better himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
Excerpts:
Rand was a devout atheist, which set her against the movement’s Christian bent. She got off on the wrong foot with the movement’s founder, William F. Buckley Jr., when she introduced herself to him in her thick Russian accent, saying “You are too intelligent to believe in God!”
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She lived her personal life like an alley cat in heat.
Excerpt:
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Rand rankled conservatives by living her life as an exemplary feminist, even as she denied it by calling herself a “male chauvinist.” She was the breadwinner throughout her lifelong marriage. The most sharply drawn hero in “Atlas” is the extraordinarily capable female railroad executive Dagny Taggart, who is set in contrast with her boss, her incompetent brother James. She’s the woman who deserves the man’s job but doesn’t have it; he’s the man who has the job but doesn’t deserve it.”
Yes, she was the ultimate feminist and the ultimate denial of that fact. Sarah Palin would like her ....
An author that is hugely flawed in reality is nothing new. Hemmingway comes to mind, as does Ruark.
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“Rand was strongly pro-choice, speaking out for abortion rights even before Roe v. Wade. In late middle age, she became enamored of a much younger man and made up her mind to have an affair with him, having duly informed her husband and the younger man's wife in advance.”
Yes, Gloria Steinen and the Demoncrats would LOVE Ayn Rand. She believed in abortion at any time for any reason.
She was also a “cougar” before that term came about. Being the arrogant control freak that she was, having a boy toy that was significantly younger should be no surprise. Nor should announcing her intentions to her husband and the wife of her boy toy to have the affair.
As I mentioned, she had the morals of an alley cat in heat.
The would if abortion was the whole ball of wax.
Is it?
Rand ping
And Balph Eubanks (that's Balph!) anticipated Ron Schiller, although Ayn Rand didn't anticipate James O'Keefe.
The things where we agree with her (you know, the "Go Galt" stuff, the stuff about making more laws so as to make more criminals, smaller gov't in general) we already knew - we didn't need her to suddenly enlighten us as to them.
The places where she was off, she was WAY off.
Oops. It’s Balph Eubank. I got him mixed up with Bob Eubanks, another societal development not anticipated by Ayn Rand.
You know less than you think you know.
Blog pimp
Sure.
We ALL know less than we think we know. Ayn Rand most definitely included.
TL, you is a gooooood boooah.
To elaborate a bit before a go to work late: To say that “we” don’t need Ayn Rand is like the greeter at Walmart saying we never needed Sam Walmart. There are relatively few intellectuals who advance the ball toward liberty in a significant and permanent way. Ayn Rand was one of them - one of a handful of thinkers in the 20th century about whom one could make that claim.
The S is going to HTF one of these days, and it'll be time to decide who you can trust your back to.
Well, okay, if you say so. I mean, sure, okay, if you want to believe the premise that nobody knew about liberty before Ayn Rand, go right ahead. I’m still not entirely sure Ayn Rand really knew what liberty - true liberty - was actually all about.
Is that good too?
Being the ultimate feminist and being rabidly PRO CHOICE - abortion at any time for any reason - MATTERS! It is a glimpse into the CHARACTER of the woman or in her case the LACK THEREOF of CHARACTER. When she devalues human life like this, can you really trust her judgment on other issues? OF COURSE NOT! This was shocking in her day and should be today as well. I see from your reply, it doesn't matter. How about her “cougar” activity?
Simply exposing cronyism capitalism should NOT be the quintessential selling point. Obama will be doing that with the former GE CEO. It doesn't take an Ayn Rand to champion that. All Ayn Rand was about was SELFISH individualism. She had NO MORALS. Money was her god. Is that your god too? She didn't like Reagan because he was not a laizefarie capitalistic as she was. She adamantly disagreed with the Viet Nam war - like Jane Fonda. Allan Greepspan was part of her inner circle. He was a Democrat. Ayn has MORE in common with Demoncrats that conservatives. Today she'd be better classified as a LIBERALtarian.
So you think it’s all going to end up collapsing one day?
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