Ayn Rand: (pro et) Contra
Date posted
Ayn Rand's views and visions covered a very many different areas of life and culture. To my mind there is only a limited amount of internal consistency in her work. Here is an example:
When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing - When you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors - When you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you - When you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice - You may know that your society is doomed.
"Atlas shrugged" (1957)
This quote is a correct analysis, that is, as far as it goes. In my view she fails in that hers is not a criticism of capitalism, and certainly not an argument in favor of socialism. The context is her view that individual rights are based on egoism, and this she fails to justify. Furthermore, her support for egoism and individual rights are, to my mind, inconsistent positions. In other words, this article is decidedly contra, and not at all pro-et-contra.
(1) Image credit: https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/ayn-rand. This 33-cent commemorative stamp was issued on 22 April 1999, details at: https://postalmuseum.si.edu/people/ayn-rand
(2) Relevant Devblog articles: "x" at:
(3) Permalink: https://www.devblog.no/en/article/ayn-rand-pro-et-contra
(4) This article was published 17 August 2022. It was revised 28 August 2022.
