[ExI] Capitalism, anti capitalism, emotional arousal

[Kelly Anderson]

On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 11:59 AM, Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10 November 2011 13:03, Henry Rivera

> And I am not sure that any Mr. Roark would think that his place is
> with the fat cats in the banks.

If I recall correctly, the desired outcome of Objectivism (Ayn Rand's
philosophy) was not for everyone to be happy, but for those who had
the capacity of Roark to be happy... and what happened to the rest of
the people was really not her concern. In her mind, they were
"dead"... they hadn't woken up and lived life, so they weren't due
anything in particular more than you would give say a horse.

The great unwashed masses were viewed by Rand as a resource, rather
like wheat or cattle or copper, but not as true human beings. That
seemed to have been reserved to the few truly gifted and motivated
people who were willing to pick up their lives by their own boot
straps and charge forward changing the world for everyone.

Now, I don't buy into this view of Rand, though I like other things
she had to say.

So yes, Roark would not work for a bank, but he might run one. The
mindless minions could turn the cranks.

The take home lesson of Objectivism would have to be answering the
question for yourself, "Am I Alive?" And from that point of view, I
think that it has a lot of merit. Well, folks, are you alive?

-Kelly