Thread: Ayn Rand
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Old 03-15-2013, 01:44 PM   #15
Elfwreck
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Gutenberg also has Anthem.

I like Rand as speculative literature; the books have some serious problems as actual philosophies. Rand's theories about how society should work assumes that everyone is more-or-less equally competent to start with, and if they're not, that's their own fault.

The specific holes in her philosophies are obvious when trying to apply them to children, and any group of people disadvantaged by powers outside of their control. She manages to get around this gaping chasm in actual politics by just not having children in her stories, except as background features attached to minor characters. (This is apparently how she managed them in life, so that makes some sense.)

I enjoy her stories very much. I picked up several important lessons from them. I have never figured out how people got from them to, as XKCD says, "therefore, be a huge ***hole to everyone."
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