"So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba....."I Kings.
private ownership and free enterprise.
I find this interview of Ayn Rand by Mike Wallace interesting because he never does understand anything she is talking about. His own prejudices and lack of knowledge are such a handicap that he is incapable of following what she is really saying..
But, Mike Wallace is typical of so many interviewers who don't understand the subject being discussed and who are so heavily steeped in their own ideas that they cannot hear anyone else .So the interview is Wallace bumbling along on false assumptions and trite but pompous rhetoric.
On building of schools and hospitals Wallace is seemingly clueless as to what she is saying.
On democracy putting socialism into play, he misses the point entirely that Americans are no longer given the opportunity to even vote on anything but socialism as put forth by both political parties in the nation.
I especially find the unions and "robber barons" part interesting as he never "gets" what she is saying. He sees so one dimensionally that he can't follow her.
She warns that we are approaching a dictatorship in this anti-constitutional nation in which we now live. Ayn Rand predicted it if we keep on in our march toward collectivism, which, we are doing.
Many today are completely ignorant of what the nation was supposed to stand for.
While I do not agree with her on belief in G-d or faith, she is one brilliant cookie , that's for sure.
Her mind soars above Wallace's. There is no denying her brilliance as a thinker. If only she had added G-d to the mix.
The whole interview is very short, though on three videos.
It is well worth your time to hear her out with an open mind, putting aside your preconceived prejudices and notions if you are able. Most are not.
I am not asking you to believe her philosophy.
I have only begun to study her. I have not yet made my decision on all she has to say nor have I heard or read all she has to say as yet. I will, though.
What I am saying it that you cannot understand your own philosophy if you have not one thing to compare it to and most Americans today have nothing other than what they are taught in government run schools or the opinions they got from their parents. A reasoned life is better than one you fall into by inheritance and blunder into blindly.
If you are in a hurry, try 2 and 3 and skip 1. But, if you are interested in learning a bit, try all three and add to your knowledge base and think about what you hear.
She was born in 1905 St. Petersburg Russia as Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum.
This interview took place in 1959 and as she foresaw we are now getting deep into collectivism in the US.
Lemon …
ReplyDeleteI watched the video and can agree with most but not all that Ayn spoke of. The first thing I noticed was Wallace smoking, which made me glad the government after much resistance put a stop to smoking in most places.
This also led me to think of labor unions. Without the government passing labor laws the average American worker would still be working in sweat-shops with no safety regulations, no vacations, 12 hr days, 7 days a week for minimum wages yet today.
Yes, government is too big today; we need some government, but socialism has no place in America. The greatest mistake the average American makes today is … they have forgotten that America was created as a republic under God, not a democracy where the masses rule. That's why we have abortion on demand and same sex marriage, etc.
In a republic we let the masses rule up to a point. We draw a line in the sand and say, we will not cross that moral line; and most of them, if not all of them should be set by God's Law … not fallen man.
God help us. And that’s a prayer, a cry for help … not taking His name in vain.
Anyway … you posted a very interesting video. Thanks.
Again, blessings to you.
So you support governmental coercion (provided it is limited to enforcing only those policies for which YOU are in moral agreement)? Are you similarly willing to accept governmental coercion based on where I draw the 'moral line in the sand'?
DeleteKind of brings us back to mob rule, huh?
David
Oklahoma
I don't endorse or support governmental coercion at all. You didn't read what I wrote.
DeleteI simply present HER argument and philosophy for consideration and I wanted to show the difference in thinking between Wallace and Rand.
You confuse me with Rand.
at one period mike wallace admitted that he was so depressed that he didn't actually pay attention to his own interviews
ReplyDeletein any case few media liberals are equipped to understand a critique of their own elitism
You missed entirely the point on labor unions that Rand was making, that is, that labor unions are run by the very same thugs and robber barons who created sweat shops in the first place. Sweat shops were the result of government regulation and interference!
ReplyDeleteEngland was a prime example in Dickens day when government interference and law made a nightmare for people to earn a living.
Unions have raised prices, made it impossible for companies to hire and keep people on the job because of insane legislation regarding union rights,etc.
I have belonged to the AFLCIO and also to the Pilots Association so I am not ignorant about Unions and membership.
The "some" government that we need is defined in the constitution. We have gone far beyond that today. And, as a frog who gets used to boiling water, the people do not notice what is happening and how much freedom they have lost.
It is so bad they are actually grateful for the government to control them.
America was created to make sure that government stayed as far out of the lives of the people as possible and that religion did the same!
America, the good America was founded on the shoulders of those fleeing religion and government in Europe.
The other America was the colonies built on big business, primarily in the south and somewhat catholic in orgin, thus tending toward canon law rather than Anglo Saxon Law.
It is this intrusion of organized religion into American life that lead us to where we are today.
As for the masses ruling, that was NEVER the objective of the founding fathers. Only landed , educated men voted in their day and with very good reason.
The problem is we don't draw lines in the sand because only strong individuals can do that. Collectivists cannot, will not, dare not and America , today , has devolved into a state in which deceived people are headed straight into hard core socialism.
When one believes, truly believes that the states meddling in private affairs,that state which is by the way the real robber baron, then they love the interference and see it as benevolent.
This was how Nimrod made his way to the top.
He insinuated himself between men and G-d. He made rules for everyone and put an end to individualism.
"Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord".. before there means in place of.
He substituted himself for G-d. That is what most government does today.
I totally agree with your last sentence. Ronald Reagan once said ... "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem."
ReplyDeleteBS"D
ReplyDeleteSweatshops failed for the same reason slavery failed. It was bad business.
Now, in the US, you do not own your own business anymore. While Agriprocessors was very poorly run in many ways, what happened there proves my point.
The unions could not get in honestly, so they wrecked the business and its owner in order that their unionized kosher meat would take over the business.
They succeeded in destroying Agri because Agri contributed to the wrong party, unlike Tyson which had far more violations but donated to the left. What I don't know, not being in the US anymore, is whether unionized Empire really took up the slack or whether new, smaller competitors took over. I also never understood kosher meat prices (so many cuts etc) so I don't know if they have gone up or not.
In the old days, the Agri management would have been fined and perhaps the owners would have been enjoined from managing the plant themselves. Alternately, the plant might have been sold at a fair price if the owners saw they could not handle it.
I don't endorse Ayn Rand. I find a whole lot of problems with her philosophy.
ReplyDelete