tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089082204850170942.post2087510332495644050..comments2024-03-21T12:52:08.166+11:00Comments on Freedom and Flourishing: Can communitarians and libertarians agree about the good society?Winton Bateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07383561940886657594noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089082204850170942.post-2756358235998371042011-01-07T06:03:51.038+11:002011-01-07T06:03:51.038+11:00I agree with that Winston. As a family therapist I...I agree with that Winston. As a family therapist I sometims play the game of personality = political theory. <br /><br />Readers might want to check out Benjamin Wiker's new book, The 10 Books Every Conservative Must Read, And One Imposter, for a scathing critique of Rand and Objectivism. Guess which book Wiker considers to be an imposter?A Place for Possibilitieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03123464658013752382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089082204850170942.post-59228919034411415042011-01-06T07:41:02.659+11:002011-01-06T07:41:02.659+11:00Thanks for your comment, Kevin.
I don't know ...Thanks for your comment, Kevin.<br /><br />I don't know enough about Rand to be sure whether your comment about her personal qualities is accurate. Since her main influence is via her novels, I think it is more useful to focus on the personal qualities of the characters she wants us to admire. The heroes of her novels don't seem to me to be selfish - in terms of the usual meaning of that term.Winton Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07383561940886657594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089082204850170942.post-5165998068105542302011-01-06T06:55:19.374+11:002011-01-06T06:55:19.374+11:00Hello All:
What a refreshing way to look at what ...Hello All:<br /><br />What a refreshing way to look at what may be the most important issue of our time.<br /><br />While speaking with a Libertarian commentator on his radio program a few weeks ago we hashed around this notion of "communal libertarianism", that a free man also may have a moral responsibility to be a good neighbor. While the state has no imperative to require a man to give to others, as in objectivism, a man's stake in his community (and indeed his superego) may compel him to be a good neighbor. All of this remains voluntary, to the extent that free choice is unencumbered by social introjects.<br /><br />The larger point is that the Founders had an implicit assumption that people would naturally be good to each other. Without the logical (neighborly)actions resulting from that assumption, we are left with narcissism and anomie. Hence, the primary criticism of Rand, that she was herself a narcissist.A Place for Possibilitieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03123464658013752382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089082204850170942.post-32867215947890182362011-01-06T06:54:44.220+11:002011-01-06T06:54:44.220+11:00Hello All:
What a refreshing way to look at what ...Hello All:<br /><br />What a refreshing way to look at what may be the most important issue of our time.<br /><br />While speaking with a Libertarian commentator on his radio program a few weeks ago we hashed around this notion of "communal libertarianism", that a free man also may have a moral responsibility to be a good neighbor. While the state has no imperative to require a man to give to others, as in objectivism, a man's stake in his community (and indeed his superego) may compel him to be a good neighbor. All of this remains voluntary, to the extent that free choice is unencumbered by social introjects.<br /><br />The larger point is that the Founders had an implicit assumption that people would naturally be good to each other. Without the logical (neighborly)actions resulting from that assumption, we are left with narcissism and anomie. Hence, the primary criticism of Rand, that she was herself a narcissist.A Place for Possibilitieshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03123464658013752382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089082204850170942.post-30379372936116949082010-01-03T10:20:09.574+11:002010-01-03T10:20:09.574+11:00Hi Clay. I think you would agree with my comments ...Hi Clay. I think you would agree with my comments on Ayn Rand's views on selfishness in this post:<br />http://wintonbates.blogspot.com/2009/10/did-ayn-rand-regard-selfishness-as.htmlWinton Bateshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07383561940886657594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089082204850170942.post-61188592003453320532010-01-03T09:22:56.459+11:002010-01-03T09:22:56.459+11:00Is it self-centered greed or legitimate self-inter...Is it self-centered greed or legitimate self-interest that is the main concern with those who do not understand Ayn Rand? Those who admire and criticize Ayn Rand’s beliefs about people who stand on their own feet often say she promoted selfishness, thereby greed, which is self-centered and anti-individual creativity. That is anti-Rand. Rand admired the creative individual, people like railroad builder James Jerome Hill, on whom she was reputed to have based her character Nathaniel Taggart in Atlas Shrugged. Independent “I’m OK, you’re OK” people are OK with Rand, not the criminal takers. If we look at Howard Roark’s summation to the jury, from Fountainhead, we do not see a self-centered individual destroying his work. If he was greedy he would have simply accepted his payment. We see an other- and outer-centered individual in love with his own dreams and creations, as one would love a spouse, child or family and refuse to allow them to be assaulted. That is the kind of self-interest that built America. Though love for anything spiritual may be missing, a great idea or vision also measures up to that which is spiritual, beyond self, and that view is not even inconsistent with Christianity. Claysamerica.com.Clay Barhamnoreply@blogger.com