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We should not expect hand outs when we are capable of working ourselves.


Exactly.

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It's like most political philosophies--it would work beautifully if everyone would buy into it. But in the real world, they won't.


Sort of like Socialism, which is the direction some people would like this country to be.

I did find this interesting:

"One thing I note, which I find interesting, is how close Rand and Marx are in their fundamental beliefs. For Rand, a person's goal is to use their labor to create something, and the greater the person, the greater their goal of achievement. She hates Marxism precisely because it removes the motivating factor of being rewarded for doing something worthwhile: in Marxism, she argues, the most needy get the most, the ability to provide goods others want is not factored into what you receive. Hence, under Marxism people are not motivated to create things others want, since they will not be rewarded for it. For Marx, self-actualization is realized through the creation of physical items, where a person is motivated create items to see his ego, himself, in the object, and Marx's goal is to create a system where this happens as efficiently and fairly as possible.

So, both Marx and Rand believe that achievements in work is how a person realizes themself. The fundamental difference between Rand and Marx is simply in their analysis of the problem: for Marx the problem is that the system of capitalism put the means of production into just a few rich person's hands, so that labor devolves into un-satisfying assembly-line work because people are barred from the tools to do meaningful work. For Rand, the key problem is the ethical system which tells the achievers that they should serve those who do not achieve, which puts barrier after barrier in the way of those who seek self-realization through creation.

For both Rand and Marx, the problem is structural, with the governmental form being the means of repression, and the main butt of their efforts for change. Rand repeatedly acknowledges that paid labor should be given freely, and willfully, and should never be forced, and in this she agrees with Marx's distaste for coerced labor. I find it interesting that these two extreme views agree on their fundamental belief of human self-realization, only to end up with so wildly divirgent theories on how to achieve that goal."

Source


I'll have to pick up Atlas Shrugged. I read Capitalism:The Unknown Ideal when I was in high school so maybe I'll try some fiction. I know Atlas Shrugged is being made into a movie as well, with Angelina Jolie playing Dagny.

Movie