I’m a fan of yours, Flying Squid - I like your comments and posts.
And this meme is so very true. If I may quote someone named “John Rogers”, who I don’t know very well, but can find his words by searching “ayn rand lord of the rings orcs”, here is something that I think others might find meaningful:
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.
Thanks! That’s very kind of you. And yes, I love that quote. Also, this comic:
found this a good read: https://onlysky.media/alee/why-libertarian-cities-fail/
i love their point about atlas shrugged. all the rich “Dooers” have retreated to a single valley, while the world falls into chaos without the billionaire ruling class.
In this valley, everything is prestine. You have untouched forrests, fields, perfect lakes.
And somehow, you have one guy logging the forest making enough lumber for a city of a hundred, despite the forest being untouched. you have fresh oranges and coffee… despite the world falling apart. you have a single doctor, and no hospital, ect ect.
It also required Galt inventing what was essentially a perpetual motion machine.
But my favorite thing about Atlas Shrugged is the idea that governments should stop interfering with railroads since it is impeding their progress.
You want governments to stop giving you land through eminent domain? Cool. Good luck.
There is a very true Tumblr post that goes “it’s really annoying, because “Atlas Shrugged” is such a raw title. The titan that holds up the world on his shoulders decides “no, fuck this shit” and shrugs. For it to be wasted on a book that’s just “I hate poor people, actually.” Is a travesty”
I’m neurodivergent and fell for this shit hard. It’s actually pretty embarrassing to look back on. Luckily, I got better
This is good. Many people fall into this trap and never realize they’re trapped; they’re convinced it’s everyone else that’s trapped
I’ve read several books in the Objectivists library, including Atlas shrugged, the fountainhead, and the virtue of selfishness.
For a certain kind of person, I do think they have value in showing a different ethical/moral framework. To wit, if you have been raised on the principal that you must always sacrifice your own happiness for others, then Onjectivist philosophy is quite novel and can actually be helpful in moving towards a more self-actualized thought mode.
For most others, however, it can turn you into a raging a-hole.
In terms of how tenable the overall principles are in practice, just remember that Rand herself went on social security.
I really like this take.
I think about those who like American Psycho or Breaking Bad, and even see themselves as those characters, unaware that those characters were assholes and emulating them makes you a bad person.
Where others see how f’d up the system is and these two are pushing the limits of what’s acceptable.
I mean, are there people who see themselves as Patrick Bateman? Walter white is a bit of a stretch too, but Bateman.
Not really people who see themselves as those characters (except the terminally delusional) but people who just idolize those characters because they appear cool or witty or have agency, despite being terrible humans.
I wouldn’t say I respected Walter as a protagonist…he’s quite clearly an anti-hero.
But I will say that I hated Skyler the first time around. Second time, though, it was like she’s the only rational person in the whole show. Especially towards the end.
Welcome to the fabulous world of the edgelords!
Yyyyyup. He’s kind of got it all. The outsized toxic masculinity, the focus on self improvement, a self centric sense of superiority, money and the power to commit cathartic violence. There are people who look at that toonish parody of a miserable violent financial bro and instead of seeing horror they see a life goal.
Some people are held at bay from becoming a Bateman not by empathy but by potential curtailment of freedoms if they get caught.
In terms of how tenable the overall principles are in practice, just remember that Rand herself went on social security.
That’s often raised against her, but there’s really no contradiction. She lived in society™ and worked within its rules. Communists don’t give up their beliefs when they (have to) go to work in privately owned companies either, and in the same way there’s no contradiction there.
I’m also wondering whether she went on social security because she had to or because of just reclaiming back part of what should have remained hers (by her philosophy)? Her books sold millions while she was alive, and she did paid lectures until 1981 (and died in 1982).
I commend you for posting this meme in the correct order. A lot of times I see this posted with the frames reversed so it looks like taking off the glasses is what lets you see the craziness.
“A lot of times” this is posted by children that have never seen They Live and don’t know what it is to be all outta bubblegum.
Ugh… Embarrassing memories of having read Atlas Shrugged when I was 17 and thinking it was deep…
Francisco D’Anconia was kind of inspiring with his, “I can do that,” attitude but the strawman caricature of bad guv’mint was comical.
There’s only one thing American libertarians hate more than poor people. And it’s actual libertarians.
My favorite part was Ayn Rand’s last years of her life was getting government handouts.
“No true Scotsman, REEEE!” motherfuckers when I deny the legitimacy of Scotland itself 😎
I read The Fountainhead instead, and it was interesting enough to keep me reading. “Okay, there’s a lot of setup of characters and circumstances going on, I am curious to know how this plays out,” and then it just … doesn’t. It was all a lead-up to a long, weakly written, and plainly stupid monologue about how completely ruthless all people should be at all times, only ever thinking in the shortest term about themselves.
I closed that book wondering why Ayn Rand was famous for anything beyond being a shitbag, when I was young enough to be kind of a shitbag myself.
But there is the rape scene which Rand thought to paint in a positive light to read about.
There’s a tech recruiting company called “John Galt Staffing.” I don’t know if they’re run by Libertarians or it’s just an unfortunate name conflict, but whenever they contact me, I respond with an email saying that I won’t do business with them.
If I had that name, I’d change it. “I just don’t know why little Adolf is having trouble with his classmates.”
Edit Fixed the spelling of the company name.
If it’s ‘Gault,’ it’s probably coincidental. If it’s Galt, almost certainly Randroids.
It’s like the companies calling themselves Skynet.
so basically you’re asking “Who is John Gault?”
I have a relative who was named Adolph (with that spelling) immediately before the rise of Hitler. I think he kept it on the, “Why should I change my name? He’s the one who sucks,” logic, but I’m not sure.
Ayn Rand was the villain all along?
Ayn Rand was the villain of her own novels, ho died on welfare.
The real villains were the friends we made along the way.
Because they make us less selfish? Ayn, is that you?
Wtf is going on with his hand? Is this an AI image or something?
To be fair it’s a universal truth that artists hate drawing hands lol
Some can’t draw feet…
If you mean “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, it’s all muscle.
“How to commit to the bit” by Ayn Rand.
“Everyone on this train deserves to die”
“Why being a selfish prick is ACTSHUALLY GOOD so stop treating me like the asshole that I am acting like”
I feel dumb because I read this book only because of BioShock, and a and was like, “pretty neat.” I didn’t really think too much about it after that. So I love when I read about people’s critiques of it!
