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A review by leelulah
The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism by Ayn Rand
1.0
Although only Ayn Rand is put as an author, there are essays by her ex collaborator Nathaniel Branden, too, so I mostly talk about how both's observations are faulty, here. They are every bit as materialistic as Marxism, just to start.
-Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead are considered as a valid philosophical source.
-Denial of sacrifice: therefore, no place for parental love or any other form of human relationship that requires it, denial of Christianity. Families don't exist.
-Lacking criticism of the idea of collective rights which Rand uses to justify abortion. The primacy of individual rights will also justify "sex work", if we follow this line.
-Life is a property right in Lockean terms and does not cover the unborn, only accessible to those who can do productive work.
-Rationalist "morality". We know what's good and evil through sensorial experiences of pleasure and pain and then can logically demonstrate a principle, but to hold a principle beyond reason is a whim. Everything is oriented towards preserving life in a very Darwinist sense. Contractual morality. Therefore religion only "offers death". "Me first" philosophy. My judgement matters and is the only one that matters while at that. Everything that does not go towards the preservation of life is useless (art could be here, but the authors alos conisder it good in the sight of it being "productive work". Constant growth is a psychological need of man (disguised progressivism)
-Trade and knowledge as foundational elements of society even in interpersonal relationships which are only made for our own interests. Denial of parental love as a consequence.
-Only a rational man capable of productive work can become prosper in an objectivist setting which puts capitalism in its laissez-faire variety as its unquestionable god.
-Critical of utilitarianism, yet the only foundation of objectivist ethics is to support and justify her variant of capitalism.
-Compares faith to mental unhealthiness, especially neurotics, and only conceives faith in terms of fideism which require us to renounce to reason. The philosophy is rooted on "self esteem", control and pride. This absolute control of reality and one's existence is impossible as death is absolutely unavoidable and unpredictable. For the authors of this book to talk about objective morality while also subordinating theirs so that capitalism can work is laughable at best. While they condemn moral neutrality, the fact that libertarians cannot agree in issues such as abortion, prostitution and others which probably Rand would condone herself despite finding them repugnant (sound familiar yet?), that's a form of advocating for relativism. Similarly, the famous NAP is a poor foundation for morality.
-Sex can be disconnected from the personal aspect, giving place to deviant behavior (because he lists sex and human relationships as separate, even when the further explanation does not mention anything to that respect, it could be fully consistent with libertarian principles to masturbate, or employ any sort of device that replaces a person).
-Denial of the moral responsibilities of the state or any sort of social responsibility.
-The rol of the state is only limited to regulating contracts between individuals, legislating to this effect, and the existence of the army because the monopoly of the force must belong to them.
-Taxing should be voluntary but does not explain how to implement it, although recognizes that such "voluntary" contribution would demand less of those who can pay less, or leave them exempt if necessary, although still benefiting from army forces (which would be parasitic, in her view), implying that everyone who can will contribute out of self-interest (which is a bit delusional, I bet many rich guys would hire personal guards and then go away if there is foreign invasion).
-It's funny that Ayn Rand should decry racism as determinist while her notion of "you're a productive man or you're dead" is every bit as determinist. Oh, also uses the term "white trash". What a classist. To her, the world is a market.
-"A fully capitalist free market hasn't existed anywhere yet" [but when it does...racism will be over!] why is such wishful thinking familiar to me? Oh, right.
-Racists should have protected free speech. Seriously? Even eugenicist organizations? Hmmmmmm.
-Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead are considered as a valid philosophical source.
-Denial of sacrifice: therefore, no place for parental love or any other form of human relationship that requires it, denial of Christianity. Families don't exist.
-Lacking criticism of the idea of collective rights which Rand uses to justify abortion. The primacy of individual rights will also justify "sex work", if we follow this line.
-Life is a property right in Lockean terms and does not cover the unborn, only accessible to those who can do productive work.
-Rationalist "morality". We know what's good and evil through sensorial experiences of pleasure and pain and then can logically demonstrate a principle, but to hold a principle beyond reason is a whim. Everything is oriented towards preserving life in a very Darwinist sense. Contractual morality. Therefore religion only "offers death". "Me first" philosophy. My judgement matters and is the only one that matters while at that. Everything that does not go towards the preservation of life is useless (art could be here, but the authors alos conisder it good in the sight of it being "productive work". Constant growth is a psychological need of man (disguised progressivism)
-Trade and knowledge as foundational elements of society even in interpersonal relationships which are only made for our own interests. Denial of parental love as a consequence.
-Only a rational man capable of productive work can become prosper in an objectivist setting which puts capitalism in its laissez-faire variety as its unquestionable god.
-Critical of utilitarianism, yet the only foundation of objectivist ethics is to support and justify her variant of capitalism.
-Compares faith to mental unhealthiness, especially neurotics, and only conceives faith in terms of fideism which require us to renounce to reason. The philosophy is rooted on "self esteem", control and pride. This absolute control of reality and one's existence is impossible as death is absolutely unavoidable and unpredictable. For the authors of this book to talk about objective morality while also subordinating theirs so that capitalism can work is laughable at best. While they condemn moral neutrality, the fact that libertarians cannot agree in issues such as abortion, prostitution and others which probably Rand would condone herself despite finding them repugnant (sound familiar yet?), that's a form of advocating for relativism. Similarly, the famous NAP is a poor foundation for morality.
-Sex can be disconnected from the personal aspect, giving place to deviant behavior (because he lists sex and human relationships as separate, even when the further explanation does not mention anything to that respect, it could be fully consistent with libertarian principles to masturbate, or employ any sort of device that replaces a person).
-Denial of the moral responsibilities of the state or any sort of social responsibility.
-The rol of the state is only limited to regulating contracts between individuals, legislating to this effect, and the existence of the army because the monopoly of the force must belong to them.
-Taxing should be voluntary but does not explain how to implement it, although recognizes that such "voluntary" contribution would demand less of those who can pay less, or leave them exempt if necessary, although still benefiting from army forces (which would be parasitic, in her view), implying that everyone who can will contribute out of self-interest (which is a bit delusional, I bet many rich guys would hire personal guards and then go away if there is foreign invasion).
-It's funny that Ayn Rand should decry racism as determinist while her notion of "you're a productive man or you're dead" is every bit as determinist. Oh, also uses the term "white trash". What a classist. To her, the world is a market.
-"A fully capitalist free market hasn't existed anywhere yet" [but when it does...racism will be over!] why is such wishful thinking familiar to me? Oh, right.
-Racists should have protected free speech. Seriously? Even eugenicist organizations? Hmmmmmm.