stuart (06/18/82)
ihnss!ihtpb!opact's recent news article had an ambiguous connection between Ayn Rand and Socialism. For those unfamiliar with A.R., there is NO connection between the two. A.R. champions the individual as the mover of his/her own life, and her novels demostrate how this is so.
wagner (06/19/82)
"Ayn Rand champions the individual as the mover of his/her own life, and ..." I would say rather that Ayn Rand championed selfishness to an (sorry, the) exclusion of others. There is a great difference between making sure you arent victimized by society, and turning around and being guilty of the same thing individually.
doug (06/20/82)
It is true that Rand championed selfishness - but not in a negative sense. She simply recognized that self-interest (a) is a more reasonable motivator than legislating goodness and (b) it is morally good for people to be interested in themselves - i.e. our society is only as just as it is just towards each individual.
ARPAVAX:CAD:ESVAX:Cory:cc-18 (06/21/82)
"Ayn Rand championed selfishness to the exclusion of others. There is a great difference between making sure you arent victimized by society, and turning around and being guilty of the same thing individually." I defy utcsstat!wagner to point to an instance of any of Rand's characters engaging in the implied behavior (victimizing society); with the exception of "Penthouse Legend" (aka "Night of January 16th"), in whose forward she explicitly states she disapproves of the hero's actions, but seeks to depict a metaphysical sense of life. As I recall, in all of Rand's novels, ALL the major characters fell in love, good and bad. This is the "exclusion of others"? John Galt lives! Michael Chastain ucbvax!Cory:cc-18 (UUCP) Cory.cc-18@Berkeley (ARPA)