Posted on 12/27/2001 2:31:24 PM PST by Chuckmorse
The Idiotic Objectivists
While Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged, the Fountainhead, and essays on politics, culture and philosophy, was a great advocate of free market capitalism and a significant anti-communist, she also made mistakes in her thinking which are presently being slavishly parroted by her devout coterie of followers at the Ayn Rand Institute.
While Rand publicly championed the individual, she privately insisted, according to former close associates, on a high degree of conformity within her inner circle.
This is reflected today in her followers, who call themselves Objectivists, and who tend to spout her dogma and mimic her mannerisms in a fashion that is at times positive and at times unbecoming.
A case in point is the recent article “Why Christmas Should be More Commercial” by Dr. Leonard Peikoff who referrers to himself as the foremost authority on Objectivism and is the founder of the Ayn Rand Institute.
While Peikoff revels in the commercial aspects of Christmas, he sneers at “assorted Nativity tales and altruist injunctions (e.g., love thy neighbor) that no one takes seriously.”
I would beg to differ.
Most of us, to varying degrees, enjoy the commercial aspect of Christmas and gift giving and see no contradiction between this and the religious aspect.
In this season this year, which comes on the tail of hijackers crashing planes into buildings, thousands of grieving families, friends, and a grieving nation, and anthrax in the mail, thinking about G-d, and loving thy neighbor contributes greatly to a more significant sense of meaning and purpose in life, certainly more so than a mere commercial transaction.
I don’t agree with Peikoff and his extreme atheism, I think people do take these things very seriously.
The Objectivists hold to the irrational theory of evolution which is that man somehow evolved from the primordial ooze.
They dismiss as a superstition the more rational idea, in my opinion, that the creation of life, with all of its incredible facets, had to involve a supernatural and divine aspect.
They reject the theory of creation not because it is irrational but because the Atheist Ayn Rand rejected it.
As an admirer of reason, I find the creation theory to be much more rational while at the same time providing a varied and nuanced sense of life, certainly more so than the morally neutral idea that man somehow miraculously evolved out of the mud.
In his Christmas article, Peikoff asserts “America’s tragedy is that its intellectual leaders have typically tried to replace happiness with guilt by insisting that the spiritual meaning of Christmas is religion and self sacrifice for Tiny Tim or his equivalent.”
Unless I’m missing something, America’s “intellectual leaders” haven’t insisted on religion any time recently but rather an atheistic, morally neutral, scientific socialist culture that claims to be based on “reason.”
As far as American religion being an advocate of “self sacrifice,” this is just nonsense.
Self-sacrifice is a policy of the abovementioned intellectual leaders who have no intention of sacrificing anything themselves, only the fruit of the labor of others.
Religion tends to advocate voluntary tithing for the needy and private charities.
Peikoff wants to “take the Christ out of Christmas, and turn the holiday into a guiltlessly egoistic, pro-reason, this-worldly, commercial celebration.”
His utopian idea of happiness seems to be a world where man is not fettered by such obstacles as guilt or worry about anything but the here and now.
Much of the article venerates earth-worshipping paganism, which is where many Atheists, hungering for meaning and purpose, seem to end up.
Ayn Rand and the Objectivists made great contributions to capitalism, freedom and individual rights but, unfortunately, that contribution is somewhat eclipsed by a darker side.
Perhaps Rand was more influenced by her own Stalinist high school and College education than she realized.
Either way, it’s a shame that such glaring mistakes threaten to discredit such important work. Chuck Morse Is the author of “Why I’m a Right-Wing Extremist” www.chuckmorse.com
I don't know any Objectivists, but I know that Ayn Rand did NOT agree with the popular evolutionary theories of her time. Either Objectivists disagree with Rand on this issue and the author is an ignoramous, or the Objectivists agree with Rand on this issue in which case the author is an ignoramous.
Except that they turn Ockham's razor into Ockham's plate of spaghetti.
You need to get your facts straight buddy. We can't both be the center of the universe.
Rand hated Neitzsche (eventually). Objectivists hate Libertarians. Maybe Democrats really do hate Communists.
Rand hated feminists too.
Come to think of it, what did Rand NOT hate? Oh I know...Victor Hugo. Weird.
I happen to be a theist, but reject the "uncaused cause" argument, in all its forms, for the simple reason that existense cannot have a beginning. But, what you mean by "existense" is the present material universe, and that is a very important distinction. (For example, if existense has a beginning, then so does God, if God exists.)
I also do not believe God created the material univers ex-nihilo, that is, from nothing. (Is God nothing? Before the universe, did He exist nowhere? Absurd, of course.) The Bible does not teach this, actually, only theologians.
These are one theist's answers, but an atheist might be comfortable with them as well. You may have noticed that God made this universe in such a way that to those who do not think to deeply, it seems to be totally self-contained and capable of explaining everything. There is a reason for this.
Hank
Nonsense. In fact, I'm a little atheistic, partially Muslim, a tad agnostic, four-tenths Lutheran, and am pretty sure that Shirley McClain is god. I'm also a hair pregnant despite being mostly male and 75% alive.
Extreme atheism: extreme is an adjective that adds nothing to atheism. You are either an atheist or not just as you are either a theist or not; you can’t be any more or any less of a theist or an atheist.
Claiming Creation theory is more rational than evolution theory is wrong. While it is true that evolution as a complete theory is lacking in certain areas, it still is a simpler and therefore more likely explanation of the origin of the universe. If God exits he would have to be greater and more complex than that which he created. Theists believe that God somehow came into existence, which would be even less likely than that a less complex Universe happened on its own. You can’t arrive at a belief in God through a rational process; it requires faith.
I would have to agree with you about many of our current Socialist intellectual leaders desiring the sacrifice of others. But there are also Pastors that profess Christ while demanding sacrifice on the part of their congregation; sacrifice that in reality ends up benefiting primarily the church leaders.
To call the vision utopian is mistaken. Utopian requires a belief in the perfectibility of mankind. Ayn Rand laid out an idealized vision of man’s potential but I find no evidence that she expected many would live up to it. Until all men are perfect you can never create utopia and to try will always result in catastrophe. The best we can do is try to move things in a better direction.
To claim that an accurate historical description of the true origin of the Christmas holiday some how venerates paganism is wrong. If any one venerates paganism it is those that worship the holiday as a historical reality.
To end with a parting cheap shot about Ayn Rand being influenced by a socialist upbringing is beneath you. I enjoyed your little essay but I am sure with a little time you could have improved the title.
LOL
I enjoy reading your posts and the insights you offer to discussions. However I respectfully disagree with the above. The Bible teaches God is from everlasting to everlasting; 1 colossians talks about the pre-existant Christ existing before time began. Of course I do not pretend to comprehend existence outside of the 4 dimensions I experience, nevertheless I am open to the possibility that Diety can.
In my opinion what we experience in this reality is not near as "real" as we think. Everthing is quantized. Eternity, the place were the Bible says God inhabits maybe more real than we can possibly imagine. Maybe I've gone off the deep end, it is late where I'm from. cheers
I doubt that you know a smarter, wiser entity than the one between your ears. Just wait until you get a chance to tutor God.
Proud2brc, to this, how would you respond?
The mad Mullah of Objectivism writes: "Life requires reason, selfishness, capitalism; that is what Christmas should celebrate--and really, underneath all the pretense, that is what it does celebrate." There's some pedantry involved in telling people what life is or requires, but I'll run the risk and say life is more complex than that.
There have been some pretty rough patches and terrible times in history. Peikoffism would have been scant consolation in the dark ages of history. Even today, it looks more like a fair weather philosophy rather than anything that can sustain people in tough situations. And discarding Christ from Christmas leaves something trivial and forgettable.
So is it to be ever more material goods, ever more materialism and prosperity? Maybe that's not the worst fate, but it does obscure things that can be more important in life. It may be that capitalism, individualism and practical materialism are our fate, but in themselves, they don't always provide the resources to get through the rough patches in the lives of nations or individuals.
An "admirer of reason" finds an obviously circular theory (what created the creator?) to be "much more rational"?
This is a particularly weak example of the "irreducable complexity" argument. Obviously, a disorganized mess of a web (of the sort spun by many spider species, actually), or even single strands (of the sort used by some hunting spider species) will catch insects -- perhaps a bit less efficiently than a flat orb web, but well enough.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.