I've read Atlas Shrugged and Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind, and I think he does a better job at explaining some parts of the Objectivest philosophy, but probably not as good at others, such as the politics behind it. (But the Sword of Truth series was still one of my favorites, if it only wasn't so darned long!) I like his books better because of the genre, lol.
I disagree with Ayn Rand in so many ways it's not funny, however I think she makes some good points about the economy and being your own person and taking responsibility for oneself in her books. I can certainly see where it can help someone to realize that they are in charge of their own destiny and that they have to do things for themselves, not for anyone else. It is important to be self motivated, to take a sort of pride in one's accomplishments, and to reward oneself for a job well done.
However, one can also see where this philosophy goes to far, like in the fountainhead where, from what I can tell, the main character pretty much rapes this woman because in his mind he was all that mattered. Also, this can be frustrating for some people who really are incapable of taking care of themselves because of some disability or another, and Ayn does nothing to address how society should handle situations like that. So all in all, it is a good book to read and understand the philosophy behind it, however it should be critically looked at and reasoned through, just like any work.
And completely OT except that someone mentioned Nihilism and I got this song stuck in my head.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE5XfgFZPBU[/youtube]
23 May 2011, 9:30 pm
