Ayn Rand was a sociopath, obsessed with hero-worship of 1920s serial killer William Hickman, whose 'free-thinking' inspired her anti-social character John Galt (look it up). Nice role model!
Anyone who thinks they are 'self-made' is stupid and arrogant. They are the REAL parasites in society. We all stand on the shoulders of those who paved a path for us.
You might want to explore her feelings about Hickman a little more closely. She admired the criminal for his lack of feelings of responsibility to society's perceptions. We see a lot of that in society nowadays in how people dress, the art they create, etc. We encourage individuality and for people to "do what you dig". But like Rand, we also subscribe to a non-aggression philosophy.
Nothing wrong with being anti-social just so long as one isn't aggressive toward society or individuals.
And yes, we are all given a head start these days. It's what we do and where we go with what is already established that indicates the level of being "self-made".
Hell, someone millenia ago came up with the bright idea to add yeast to flour and developed a soft, raised bread. That still doesnt mean that a person who creates a sliced bread empire isn't self-made.
Rand even acknowledges this idea that man builds on what others have created before him.
The only truly self-made man would be one who was dropped on a deserted island at birth and survived by their own hand and mind. Pretty impossible.
**WARNING: MY POSTS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS**
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Paid to post ... :)
shareAnyone who thinks Ayn Rand was a sociopath obviously has no idea what a sociopath is.
My vote history: http://us.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=9354248
IMHO if you don't believe Rand was a sociopath then you are the ones that doesn't know what one is.
She once planned out a novel of her ideal man whom she was basing on Hickman - this is her description in her words - " he is born with a wonderful, free, light consciousness resulting from the absolute lack of social instinct or herd feeling. He does not understand, because he has no organ for understanding, the necessity, meaning, or importance of other people ... Other people do not exist for him and he does not understand why they should."
Wonderful, free, light consciousness? Hickman was a forger, armed robber, kidnapper and brutal murderer who chopped up the body of a child and then wired her eyes open to make her father think she was alive so he could get a ransom. He tossed her legs and internal organs all over the streets of Los Angeles as if it were trash.
This was Rand's idea of her ideal man. A man who could do something like this and feel nothing because other humans meant nothing to him except in ways he could use them to further his own situation. In other words - a pure sociopath.
Nobody admires sociopaths except for other sociopaths. The rest of us are sickened and horrified by them as a normal person should be. A normal person with normal feeling of apathy and sympathy. Sick people like Rand lack those traits.
Rand claimed that the public didn't hate what the man had done, but that we hated the man because we were jealous of him for his independence. She seriously believed that.
Here are some more of her exact words on Hickman -
"Other people have no right, no hold, no interest or influence on him. And this is not affected or chosen -- it's inborn, absolute, it can't be changed, he has 'no organ' to be otherwise. In this respect, he has the true, innate psychology of a Superman. He can never realize and feel other people.' "
"He shows how impossible it is for a genuinely beautiful soul to succeed at present, for in all [aspects of] modern life, one has to be a hypocrite, to bend and tolerate. This boy wanted to command and smash away things and people he didn't approve of."
A genuinely beautiful soul. That was how she viewed Hickman. A man who kidnapped, murdered and chopped up a little girl.
She also said of the crowd of people that showed up when Hickman was brought to court - "It is repulsive to see all these beings with worse sins and crimes in their own lives, virtuously condemning a criminal."
Really? All the people in the crowd had done worse things in their own lives than murder and mutilate a child and mentally torture her parents? Did Rand really believe that?
She regarded those judging him with contempt and him with admiration.
She was a sick monster pretending to be a human being. There was nothing human about Rand. There is no better example of a sociopath than her except perhaps Hickman himself.
timonsirl,
Thanks for your thoughtful, well researched post. It's the most valuable contribution to this thread so far.
Nobody admires sociopaths except for other sociopaths.Especially the ones who don't, or won't recognize that they are sociopaths.
It is very clear to me that she admired the individualist attitude of the man, a trait that repeats in her other works and life philosophy, that doesnt mean she admired everything he did.
"To them, love and compassion are for the weak."
I've never understood why so many Rand haters always have to resort to such weak strawman argument.
I've never understood why so many Rand haters always have to resort to such weak strawman argument.
Im not an expert in Ayn Rand's work or philosophy, Im just a fan and read some of Atlas Shrugged thats all, but I dont believe she ever actively supported to let people suffer and die, rather she rejected the notion of self-sacrifice to the collective as a higher purpose in life, in other words she rejected any notion of moral superiority of the State as a mean to serve society, you should attend to yourself first then think of helping others.
I suppose it all comes down to the use of force as mean to "do good", charity is acceptable because is voluntary, safety regulations are not because they are impossed.
It is ironic though, Rand came from a land were the likes of Lennin tried to create a perfect collectivist society and in doing so they created the most passionate individualist and anti-collectivist ever.
fmatias-cea,
charity is acceptable because is voluntary, safety regulations are not because they are imposedTry this at the next red traffic light you encounter; fück those 'imposed regulations', just floor it!
Traffic lights are not an arbitrary economic law but a social consensus and a reasonable one at that, though I found your example a bit petty.
"Leave society and go live on your own!"
I can live wherever I want, force doesnt give you the right to territory.
"Do as your hero John Galt did"
I already said Im not an objectivist rather an amateur fan of Rand's work you on the other hand sound like an anti-objectivist fanatic.
fmatias-cea,
Traffic lights are not an arbitrary economic lawAh, here come the qualifiers as your argument fails. Who decides what regulations are 'arbitrary'? Are you prepared to forgo food inspectors making sure consumers don't get poisoned? Are you okay with the money in your bank account being uninsured, and subject to predation? There are innumerable other 'petty' or 'arbitrary' examples why regulations are a necessary price paid to live in a society.
force doesnt give you the right to territorySo I can't simply squat in your home and claim ownership? Who says? Isn't that another damned regulation?
"Who decides what regulations are 'arbitrary'?"
Any regulation that infringes life, liberty or property enacted by the State to regulate a portion of society forcefully, there is no reason to believe a free society would not be able to agree on a traffic light system of a sort without the State.
"Are you prepared to forgo food inspectors making sure consumers don't get poisoned? Are you okay with the money in your bank account being uninsured, and subject to predation?"
Yes
"So I can't simply squat in your home and claim ownership? Who says? Isn't that another damned regulation?"
Thats initiation of force and a violation of private property... You should read something about homesteading or libertarian philosophy since it addresses that very issue directly.
"When objectivism is closely analyzed, it falls apart, and its proponents back-peddle madly. In what other ways will you qualify and 'regulate' your firmly held philosophy? "
Are you making a speech? talking to the audience? sorry to break it to you but there is no audience here.
there is no audience hereAnd yet my 'audience' was reached. If I close my eyes, will you disappear? share
Try this at the next red traffic light you encounter; fück those 'imposed regulations', just floor it!
Kudos to you gabby_bm for that very simple yet elegant answer.
shareIm just a fan and read some of Atlas Shrugged thats all, but I dont believe she ever actively supported to let people suffer and die
You're wrong.
http://www.salon.com/2015/10/14/libertarian_superstar_ayn_rand_defended_genocide_of_savage_native_americans/
Please nobody gives a *beep* about natives
shareWell well well...it's a cyber looter.
shareRand was a sociopath, a fascist and basically not a very nice person. However the same can be said for most politicians the world over, so what are you going to do?
shareAnyone see the letter she wrote to her Niece? Ill Post it here. It's very stern.
To Connie Papurt, AR’s niece, a daughter of Frank’s sister, Agnes Papurt
May 22, 1949
Dear Connie:
You are very young, so I don’t know whether you realize the seriousness of your action in writing to me for money. Since I don’t know you at all, I am going to put you to a test.
If you really want to borrow $25 from me, I will take a chance on finding out what kind of person you are. You want to borrow the money until your graduation. I will do better than that. I will make it easier for you to repay the debt, but on condition that you understand and accept it as a strict and serious business deal. Before you borrow it, I want you to think it over very carefully.
Here are my conditions: If I send you the $25, I will give you a year to repay it. I will give you six months after your graduation to get settled in a job. Then, you will start repaying the money in installments: you will send me $5 on January 15, 1950, and $4 on the 15th of every month after that; the last installment will be on June 15, 1950—and that will repay the total.
Are you willing to do it?
Here is what I want you to think over: Once you get a job, there will always be many things which you will need and on which you might prefer to spend your money, rather than repay a debt. I want you to decide now, in advance, as an honest and responsible person, whether you will be willing and able to repay this money, no matter what happens, as an obligation above and ahead of any other expense.
I want you to understand right now that I will not accept any excuse—except a serious illness. If you become ill, then I will give you an extension of time—but for no other reason. If, when the debt becomes due, you tell me that you can’t pay me because you needed a new pair of shoes or a new coat or you gave the money to somebody in the family who needed it more than I do—then I will consider you as an embezzler. No, I won’t send a policeman after you, but I will write you off as a rotten person and I will never speak or write to you again.
Now I will tell you why I am so serious and severe about this. I despise irresponsible people. I don’t want to deal with them or help them in any way. An irresponsible person is a person who makes vague promises, then breaks his word, blames it on circumstances and expects other people to forgive it. A responsible person does not make a promise without thinking of all the consequences and being prepared to meet them.
You want $25 for the purpose of buying a dress; you tell me that you will get a job and be able to repay me. That’s fine and I am willing to help you, if that is exactly what you mean. But if what you mean is: give me the money now and I will repay it if I don’t change my mind about it—then the deal is off. If I keep my part of the deal, you must keep yours, just exactly as agreed, no matter what happens.
I was very badly disappointed in Mimi and Marna [Docky]. When I first met Mimi, she asked me to give her money for the purpose of taking an art course. I gave her the money, but she did not take the art course. I supported Marna for a year—for the purpose of helping her to finish high school. She did not finish high school. I will take a chance on you, because I don’t want to blame you for the actions of your sisters. But I want you to show me that you are a better kind of person.
I will tell you the reasons for the conditions I make: I think that the person who asks and expects other people to give him money, instead of earning it, is the most rotten person on earth. I would like to teach you, if I can, very early in life, the idea of a self-respecting, self-supporting, responsible, capitalistic person. If you borrow money and repay it, it is the best training in responsibility that you can ever have.
I want you to drop—if you have it in your mind—the idea that you are entitled to take money or support from me, just because we happen to be relatives. I want you to understand very clearly, right now, when you are young, that no honest person believes that he is obliged to support his relatives. I don’t believe it and will not do it. I cannot like you or want to help you without reason, just because you need the help. That is not a good reason. But you can earn my liking, my interest and my help by showing me that you are a good person.
Now think this over and let me know whether you want to borrow the money on my conditions and whether you give me your word of honor to observe the conditions. If you do, I will send you the money. If you don’t understand me, if you think that I am a hard, cruel, rich old woman and you don’t approve of my ideas—well, you don’t have to approve, but then you must not ask me for help.
I will wait to hear from you, and if I find out that you are my kind of person, then I hope that this will be the beginning of a real friendship between us, which would please me very much.
Your aunt,
Anyone see the letter she wrote to her Niece? Ill Post it here. It's very stern.
To Connie Papurt, AR’s niece, a daughter of Frank’s sister, Agnes Papurt
May 22, 1949
Dear Connie:
You are very young, so I don’t know whether you realize the seriousness of your action in writing to me for money. Since I don’t know you at all, I am going to put you to a test.
If you really want to borrow $25 from me, I will take a chance on finding out what kind of person you are. You want to borrow the money until your graduation. I will do better than that. I will make it easier for you to repay the debt, but on condition that you understand and accept it as a strict and serious business deal. Before you borrow it, I want you to think it over very carefully.
Here are my conditions: If I send you the $25, I will give you a year to repay it. I will give you six months after your graduation to get settled in a job. Then, you will start repaying the money in installments: you will send me $5 on January 15, 1950, and $4 on the 15th of every month after that; the last installment will be on June 15, 1950—and that will repay the total.
Are you willing to do it?
Here is what I want you to think over: Once you get a job, there will always be many things which you will need and on which you might prefer to spend your money, rather than repay a debt. I want you to decide now, in advance, as an honest and responsible person, whether you will be willing and able to repay this money, no matter what happens, as an obligation above and ahead of any other expense.
I want you to understand right now that I will not accept any excuse—except a serious illness. If you become ill, then I will give you an extension of time—but for no other reason. If, when the debt becomes due, you tell me that you can’t pay me because you needed a new pair of shoes or a new coat or you gave the money to somebody in the family who needed it more than I do—then I will consider you as an embezzler. No, I won’t send a policeman after you, but I will write you off as a rotten person and I will never speak or write to you again.
Now I will tell you why I am so serious and severe about this. I despise irresponsible people. I don’t want to deal with them or help them in any way. An irresponsible person is a person who makes vague promises, then breaks his word, blames it on circumstances and expects other people to forgive it. A responsible person does not make a promise without thinking of all the consequences and being prepared to meet them.
You want $25 for the purpose of buying a dress; you tell me that you will get a job and be able to repay me. That’s fine and I am willing to help you, if that is exactly what you mean. But if what you mean is: give me the money now and I will repay it if I don’t change my mind about it—then the deal is off. If I keep my part of the deal, you must keep yours, just exactly as agreed, no matter what happens.
I was very badly disappointed in Mimi and Marna [Docky]. When I first met Mimi, she asked me to give her money for the purpose of taking an art course. I gave her the money, but she did not take the art course. I supported Marna for a year—for the purpose of helping her to finish high school. She did not finish high school. I will take a chance on you, because I don’t want to blame you for the actions of your sisters. But I want you to show me that you are a better kind of person.
I will tell you the reasons for the conditions I make: I think that the person who asks and expects other people to give him money, instead of earning it, is the most rotten person on earth. I would like to teach you, if I can, very early in life, the idea of a self-respecting, self-supporting, responsible, capitalistic person. If you borrow money and repay it, it is the best training in responsibility that you can ever have.
I want you to drop—if you have it in your mind—the idea that you are entitled to take money or support from me, just because we happen to be relatives. I want you to understand very clearly, right now, when you are young, that no honest person believes that he is obliged to support his relatives. I don’t believe it and will not do it. I cannot like you or want to help you without reason, just because you need the help. That is not a good reason. But you can earn my liking, my interest and my help by showing me that you are a good person.
Now think this over and let me know whether you want to borrow the money on my conditions and whether you give me your word of honor to observe the conditions. If you do, I will send you the money. If you don’t understand me, if you think that I am a hard, cruel, rich old woman and you don’t approve of my ideas—well, you don’t have to approve, but then you must not ask me for help.
I will wait to hear from you, and if I find out that you are my kind of person, then I hope that this will be the beginning of a real friendship between us, which would please me very much.
Your aunt,
BrandiStarBright,
So cool of you to share this.
If I were Connie, I'd have paid Ayn $25 just to fück off and never communicate with me again. Most families probably have their own crabby old bitch, but that doesn't mean you can't dissociate yourself from them.
Bit like Shirley MacLaine's attitude to her daughter.
shareThe few, "paid teachers," have absconded from these threads. No surprise, Rand is akin to L Ron and Davie Boy.