Anthem by Ayn Rand
By admin | December 13, 2009
Atlas Shrugged gets most of the press nowadays, but Ayn Rand has another work that perhaps serves as a better introduction to her works. Particularly for younger folks, Anthem provides a glimpse into Ayn Rand’s sense of life that is far shorter and more accessible than Atlas Shrugged. Amazon’s description provides a decent introduction:
Written with all the power and conviction that made THE FOUNTAINHEAD and ATLAS SHRUGGED classics of American letters, Ayn Rand’s ANTHEM is a hymn to man’s independent spirit and to the highest word in the human language — the word “Ego.” ANTHEM tells the story of a man who rediscovers individualism and his own “I” It is a world of absolute collectivization, a world where sightless, joyless, selfless men exist for the sake of serving the State; where their work, their food, and their mating are prescribed to them by order of the Collective’s rulers in the name of society’s welfare. It is a world which lost all the achievements of science and civilization when it lost its root, the independent mind, and reverted to primitive savagery a world where language contains no singular pronouns, where the “We” has replaced the “I,” and where men are put to death for the crime of discovering and speaking the “unspeakable word.” ANTHEM presents not merely a frightening projection of existing trends, but, more importantly, a positive answer to those trends and a weapon against them, a key to the world’s moral crisis and to a new morality of individualism — a morality that, if accepted today, will save us from a future such as the one presented in this story.
Anthem by Ayn Rand is, in short, a Utopian vision about a man’s recognition of his own individualism, and a pronouncement of Rand’s belief that collectivism is helpless in the face of it. As Ayn Rand pointed out, evil can only success with the sanction of its victims, and nowhere is the more true than in the struggle between the individual and the group. Today, when altruist/collectivist morality dominates our culture, Anthem services to crystallize the fundamental nature of this struggle.
As Ayn Rand said in the Foreward to Anthem:
The greatest guilt today is that of people who accept collectivism by moral default; the people who seek protection from the necessity of taking a stand, by refusing to admit to themselves the nature of that which they are accepting; the people who support plans specifically designed to achieve serfdom, but hide behind the empy assertion that they are lovers of freedom, with no concrete meaning attached to the word; the people who believe that the content of ideas need not be examined, that principles need not be defined, and that facts can be eliminated by keeping one’s eyes shut. They expect, when they find themselves in a world of bloody ruins and concentration camps, to escape moral responsibility by wailing: “But I didn’t mean this!”
Those who want slavery should have the grace to name it by its proper name. They must face the full meaning of that which they are advocating or condemning; the full, exact meaning of collectivism, of its logical implications, of the principles upon which it is based, and of the ultimate consequences to which these principles will lead.
They must face it, then decide whether this is what they want or not.
If one reads Anthem and finds parallels to today’s political and philosophical environment–which one must, if one’s eyes and mind are open–it makes sense then to move on to Atlas Shrugged. And so a suggestion: if you’ve not read Ayn Rand’s works (or, even if you’ve read everything else she wrote), then read Anthem. When you’re done, you may look at the world around you a little differently, and if so, then this short little work of genius will have done its job.
Topics: Food, Philosophy, Poison, collectivism | 1 Comment »
Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate Discuss the Berlin Wall – 2009
By mcoppock | November 14, 2009
On the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall, it’s frightening and pathetic to note how little importance our current Administration places on the most powerful symbol of the fall of Communism. That symbol is, of course, the fall of the Berlin Wall, a veritably artistic representation of the return to freedom of millions of people from the thralls of totalitarian collectivism. Dr. Yaron Brook and Dr. Onkar Ghate of the Ayn Rand Institute discuss the significance of this event in an interview with Debi Ghate, featured on YouTube:
Topics: Food, Philosophy, Politics, Russia | No Comments »
Jeremiah Wright – Obama’s Spiritual Father Speaks
By mcoppock | November 2, 2009
It’s been awhile since this blog has been updated. That’s not been on purpose, and the story behind the delay might be interesting to some (it’s a story about the housing and financial crisis, on a very micro scale), but it’s not been decided whether it’s actually worth a post.
What is worth it, though, is this bit from Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama’s spiritual father–or, at least, the man who once was Barack Obama’s spiritual father before he was thrown under a bus during the Obama campaign. It’s fairly well known, however, or should be, that this man had a great deal to do with shaping Obama’s world view or at least was the result of the same Leftist engine that produced our current President. Understanding what this man, Wright, has to say about the world is therefore enlightening in understanding how Obama looks at the world as well.
Take a look. It’s fascinating stuff–that is, fascinating like watching a lion take down a gazelle or, perhaps more to the point, like watching a mobster shake down the victim of a protection racket. You can’t help but keep watching, no matter how disturbing, because you know that understanding it is and will become increasingly important as you try to survive in the world as it’s being remade, or changed, if you will.
Update: I listened to more of the video since writing the above, and I’d like to change my admonition: absolutely, take a look. You must. In fact, listen to the whole damn thing. If you’re familiar with Ellsworth Toohey from Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, you’ll hear his voice spewing out from this man’s mouth. And if you don’t hear some of Barack Obama here as well, then I’d be very surprised.
Rev Jeremiah Wright (introduced by Robert McChesney) at Monthly Review’s 60th Anniversary from Vimeo.
Topics: Economics, Leftists, Politics, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Obama Succeeds in Destroying Property Rights
By mcoppock | May 9, 2009
This is tragic, and frightening: Chrysler Lenders Give Into Restructuring:
A scrappy group of dissident lenders that challenged President Obama’s restructuring of Chrysler LLC fell apart Friday in a development that signals a major political victory for the White House and likely paves the way for a rapid exit from bankruptcy for the beleaguered automaker.
The dissolution of the lender cabal clears away the largest obstacle standing in the way of the White House’s plans to sell the bulk of Chrysler’s assets to Italy’s Fiat Group SpA and start making smaller, more fuel-efficient cars in the United States. The company hopes to emerge from bankruptcy in a record time of less than two months.
The hold-out lenders charged that Mr. Obama, who had called them “speculators” and questioned their patriotism as well as blamed them for the bankruptcy, used undue political pressure, even though they were pursuing their legal rights in bankruptcy court, where the claims of such secured lenders normally prevail.
“After a great deal of soul-searching and quite frankly agony, they concluded they just don’t have critical mass to withstand the enormous pressure and machinery of the U.S. government,” said Thomas Lauria, the group’s lead attorney.
Read the whole thing. It’s chock-full of language that one expects to read in a fascist dictatorship, not a free country. Here’s another quote, and remember that these are private citizens with valid ownership claims:
What started out as a dissident group of a couple dozen hedge funds and other investors led by OppenheimerFunds Inc. dwindled to only six and then fell apart by the end of the week after the group realized there weren’t enough of them to take on the White House and Democrats in Congress, who owe their election in part to labor unions.
Topics: Economics, Poison, Politics | No Comments »
Health Insurance Organization Sells Out Membership to Obama Administration
By mcoppock | May 6, 2009
I can’t imagine a worse quote as this: Health Insurers Try to Scuttle Obama Plan:
In an effort to scuttle a major part of President Obama’s plan to reform the nation’s health-care system, private health insurers are taking the unusual step of asking Congress to increase regulation of their industry.
“We are not asking people to trust us,” Karen Ignagni, the president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, told a key congressional panel on Tuesday. “We are asking people to trust government.”
It’s obvious that Ignagni, and presumably the health insurance industry that she represents, hasn’t read Atlas Shrugged. Asking government to chop off one’s hands and feet in order to save one’s head is the worst sort of compromise. This is just horrible stuff:
“I know you guys are skeptical, I read it on your faces,” Ignagni told reporters following the hearing. “This is truly what it is: It is a transparent call for a full-scale renovation and a complete overhaul of the existing regulatory mechanisms.”
Read the whole thing, if you can stomach it.
Topics: Economics, Poison, Politics, healthcare | No Comments »
Dr. Binswanger on the Glenn Beck Show, Discussing Obama’s Education Plan
By mcoppock | May 5, 2009
“Churning out Barney Franks, Michael Moores, and Al Gores…” Classic! Definitely worth a watch…
Topics: Education, Food, Politics | No Comments »
On the American Use of the Atomic Bomb
By mcoppock | May 3, 2009
Two important pieces on America’s use of the atomic bomb in Japan. The impetus was John Stewart’s position that dropping the bomb was a war crime and Truman a war criminal.
First, there’s Bill Whittle’s discussion on PJTV. Watch it here.
Then, read this John Lewis’s discussion: “Gifts from Heaven”: The Meaning of the American Victory Over Japan in 1945:
Between 1889 and 1931, a cancerous tumor took root in the western Pacific Ocean. A nation of seventy million people systematically implanted, into their minds and their culture, an ideology of sacrifice to an Emperor-god. The cancer soon metastasized into a continental war, launched first against Manchuria in 1931, then against China in 1937. In 1941, a coordinated campaign of attacks was launched against the American fleet at Pearl Harbor, as well as the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaya, Indonesia, and the islands of Guam, Wake, and Midway. By 1942, the cancer had reached the Aleutian Islands, New Guinea, and Burma—and it threatened Australia, India, and the west coast of America. The seemingly invincible Japanese Empire of the Rising Sun controlled one-seventh of the earth’s surface.
Read the whole thing.
Topics: Food, Philosophy, Politics | No Comments »
« Previous Entries