Defending Atlas Shrugged and Objectivism – Part Two

Last night we began this discussion by talking about Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. The fictional novel was based around a philosophy called objectivism. Tonight we resume our discussion by talking about objectivism. I will admit that I am a fan of objectivism. I am a fan because it makes sense to me. Further, in practice, it is the only philosophy that actually has a base in reality. I think  that the most important aspect of what I need to cover this evening will be actually defining and explaining objectivism. It appears that the most common error that I have seen when discussing it is that those who are opposed don’t really understand what Rand was attempting to lay out with objectivist theory. They have a false idea of what it really is. I don’t think that it is simply because people are too dim to understand (although that is true in some cases). I think, instead that the problem comes from the mistake of forming opinions without really attempting to understand and the fact that Rand didn’t necessarily do a great job of covering some of the aspects that were important.

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Charity and Sacrifice in a Free Society

With no time to write this evening I offer instead an article I read a while ago on the American Thinker website. We often talk of how the poor suffer in this country. And we obviously differ in our approaches as to how to deal with this situation. Those on the left tend to believe that it is government’s duty to prop up the weakest among us. Those on the right tend to believe in Charity. Black Flag believes government shouldn’t exist and that charity would suffice to solve the problem should the government no longer be in the way. While I don’t share BF’s desire to see zero government, I do share his belief that charity can take care of the issues that plague our poor. There is no need to for a government handout program, which is what welfare has become. I share the article and invite discussion around it because I believe that the article succinctly lays out the consequence of the altruism that today’s politicians bring to bear on the American public.