Ayn Rand: Sociopath?
Today is Tuesday, 2 March 2010.
In an article on AlterNet, Mark Ames makes a good case that Ayn Rand’s values were those of a sociopath. (See citation below.)
In the late 1920s, Rand became fascinated by a serial killer named William Edward Hickman, whose crimes including killing and dismembering a child. Rand wrote: "Other people do not exist for him, and he does not see why they should.” He had "no regard whatsoever for all that society holds sacred, and with a consciousness all his own. He has the true, innate psychology of a Superman. He can never realize and feel 'other people.'"
Ames compares this passage with Rand’s description of Howard Roark in The Fountainhead: "He was born without the ability to consider others."
Ames notes correctly the popularity of Rand among Tea Party types, and the right-wing in general. How could it be otherwise, given that her main statement of her philosophy was titled The Virtue of Selfishness?
"If [people] place such things as friendship and family ties above their own productive work, yes, then they are immoral. Friendship, family life and human relationships are not primary in a man's life. A man who places others first, above his own creative work, is an emotional parasite."
Many years ago, the high school senior daughter of a friend had a choice of books to read and review. One was Atlas Shrugged by Rand. The friend asked me if I knew it, as she’d heard it was “questionable” (meaning “sexy”).
I said that the “bad” thing about the book was that it promoted being a rich, spoiled brat as the ideal character type, and that her daughter was certainly perceptive enough to see through it. I did warn her that the writing was of the sort that gives “turgid” a bad name, and might induce narcolepsy.
_____________________________________________
http://www.alternet.org/books/145819/ayn_rand,_hugely_popular_author_and_inspiration_to_right-wing_leaders,_was_a_big_admirer_of_serial_killer_?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet
______________________________________________
Kurt Weill was born on this date in 1900. Following song is from The Threepenny Opera. Lyrics are by Bertolt Brecht.
In an article on AlterNet, Mark Ames makes a good case that Ayn Rand’s values were those of a sociopath. (See citation below.)
In the late 1920s, Rand became fascinated by a serial killer named William Edward Hickman, whose crimes including killing and dismembering a child. Rand wrote: "Other people do not exist for him, and he does not see why they should.” He had "no regard whatsoever for all that society holds sacred, and with a consciousness all his own. He has the true, innate psychology of a Superman. He can never realize and feel 'other people.'"
Ames compares this passage with Rand’s description of Howard Roark in The Fountainhead: "He was born without the ability to consider others."
Ames notes correctly the popularity of Rand among Tea Party types, and the right-wing in general. How could it be otherwise, given that her main statement of her philosophy was titled The Virtue of Selfishness?
"If [people] place such things as friendship and family ties above their own productive work, yes, then they are immoral. Friendship, family life and human relationships are not primary in a man's life. A man who places others first, above his own creative work, is an emotional parasite."
Many years ago, the high school senior daughter of a friend had a choice of books to read and review. One was Atlas Shrugged by Rand. The friend asked me if I knew it, as she’d heard it was “questionable” (meaning “sexy”).
I said that the “bad” thing about the book was that it promoted being a rich, spoiled brat as the ideal character type, and that her daughter was certainly perceptive enough to see through it. I did warn her that the writing was of the sort that gives “turgid” a bad name, and might induce narcolepsy.
_____________________________________________
http://www.alternet.org/books/145819/ayn_rand,_hugely_popular_author_and_inspiration_to_right-wing_leaders,_was_a_big_admirer_of_serial_killer_?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet
______________________________________________
Kurt Weill was born on this date in 1900. Following song is from The Threepenny Opera. Lyrics are by Bertolt Brecht.
posted by HH at 7:10 AM
5 Comments:
Apparently, all of us who support individual freedom, against the those who see community interests as more important, as does Obama, are sociopaths. According the the few elite who would rule the many, psychopaths are individuals like Howard Roark (Fountainhead), the pebble droppers who make waves and leave wakes as they create and challenge the accepted and established way things are laid out by the few who know best. claysamerica.com
Apparently, individual freedom extends to deregulating the rules of language in the world of "claysamerica.com". Or, perhaps, it's merely a matter of License, not Liberty.
So Clay, you agree that a psychopathic serial killer's individual liberty to wantonly slaughter members of the community is morally superior to the community's interest in freedom from that type of inconvenience?
To what extent should objectivism be pursued since its moral foundation demands herd thinning.
To borrow from Highlander, there can only be one.
Amen!
I find Clay's hotness for wanton community-slaughtering inconvenice even worse than those pesky rush hour tie-ups (does Clay heart bondage?) on the Long Island Expressway (LIE).
Mayhap, Clay should be the headlights deer on the LIE at 6.30am, and discover what herd thinning is all about.
Confidential to OkieGal: is THIS snarky enough?
Yeah, it's snarky enough. (Although, the analogy of the Long Island Expressway will be lost on many of your readers.)
I would not deny your INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY in your commentary. I would, however, appreciate if it was, at times, more liner. i.e. more similitude in your "compare and contrast."
Hey, what do I know. I'm an accountant.
Post a Comment
<< Home