2010-03-28

Rand Still Resonates

As far as I know, Ayn Rand isn't technically libertarian. She's objectivist.

Nonetheless, she continues to be a best selling author.

Between her and conservative writers, they own most best seller's list.

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous3/29/2010

    I detest Rand with a passion. Indeed she does resonate and cause reactions too.

    http://zeusiswatching.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/praise-for-national-review-online/

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  2. Thanks for the link. That was excellent stuff. I agree she was no friend of liberty. Objectivists are creepy in their cult like observances of Rand. She kept them in line alright.

    But I would like to why she resonates. Is it because there's a backlash to the growth of government or something more? Then again, if that were true one would think libertarianism would benefit. Then again - again - I don't know if there's a passionate writer - as you put it - like Rand in their ranks.

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  3. Anonymous3/29/2010

    I'm not a libertarian. I find some of their stuff interesting and useful, but I clearly fall elsewhere on the social/political spectrum.

    The former editor of Reason Magazine, Virginia Postrel is certainly a capable writer, although I found her book "Enemies of Freedom" verbose, and despite writing a book that was probably 100 pages or more too long. It also failed to address some important questions for a reader of a book trying to convince one to accept or adopt what she called a "dynamist" positon rather than the "stasist" position more commonly associated with state controlled industries and economies.

    I would flee any work by Mr. H. L. Mencken, a bigot and a venomous man who is sometimes regarded as a libertarian but was nothing but an exceptionally vicious man with a knack for journalism.

    Back to original sources, I would recommend works by Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and Washington as well as Franklin. These writers are not economists really, but Enlightenment Era thinkers on this side of the Atlantic whose works contain the seeds of modern right of center thinking. Another back to basics work that might be worth reading as valuable source material is "The Portable Enlightenment Reader." This excellent anthology presents excerpts from the Era with no glossing over of the less enlightened ideas of some of these thinkers, but also included a number of the essays and comments about economics of the day, many of which influence capitalist thinkers even today.

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  4. Anonymous3/29/2010

    btw. The link to Mrs. Postrel's blog. Her book is for sale at Amazon.com if you or your readers are interested. I would grade the book three stars out of five. But her blog has some interesting, thought provoking articles and links.

    http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/index.html

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  5. Anonymous3/29/2010

    My bad! Postrel's book is entitled "The Future and its Enemies" I should turn in now!

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  6. I'll side with the side that will trust me most.

    I definitely read the Founding Fathers - a lot. They certainly leave a mark.

    I still don't see how liberals - especially the ones of today - can claim them. They don't sound all that liberal to me. They seemed more like classical liberals and certainly had a conservative streak.

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