No I said some harsh things too man. If we didnt argue with passion, why bother?
First, you are talking to a hardcore nihilist here. Being a nothingness junkie and dork, Ive read everthing from the great anarchists ( Proudhon and the wonderful Bakunin), Commies ( Lenin, Marx), capitalists ( forced to read most all of them), philosophers, psychologists and writers ( from Nietszche to Camus etc.) and nowhere have I come across such a bankrupt philosophy as Ms. Rands. I am also a graduate student in economics and international development, so please, read the below comments. And Of course, I am anyhting but a positivist either; and I suppose Rand is as deep as 20th century positivist philosophy can go.
And, I think you have watched too many John Wayne movies. And being a Brazilian I am shocked you dont see the fallacy of what you are preaching. You know the federal government has pretty much subsidized every house in America; it has built every highway, every sewer, etc, etc. Without such improvements, where do you think our economy would be? Would businesses build highways? I suppose if they received a gov monopoly they would--but this would lead us back to the days of the horribly corrupt railroad industry. Brazil perhaps? No middle class, millions of people forced to pull themselves up ala Rand? We see how well that is going for you. The middle class is just booming epecially in the north of the country ( and I am being sarcastic of course)--Fortaleza etc. And i find it intereseting that the most economically prosperous city in Brazil these days is Curitiba--the most pro government city in South America.
Hell most investment is based on homeownership these days. Without the FED, who knows what the monetary situation would be like? The government is important, it may be inefficient, it certiantly cant plan very well; but without an effective gov, its the Third World. Of course, America right now is undergoing a transformation towards the kind of ideas Rand and her shallow cronies postulated. And look at what it is getting us, retirements and benefits are disappearing, roads and infrastructure are crumbling, our personal spending power is the lowest in 15 years, the gap between rich and poor has increased,good jobs disappear every day, college cost are becoming obscene. This is all a result of this rational individualism, a belief gov crowds out markets, is inefficient etc. Her philosophy is bankrupt; it benefits very very few, and offers them no spiritual fulfillment--only money and ego.
And that is all I can really say on the subject.
