Jesus Christ.
Edit: The full debate is here. I highly recommend listening to it.
Yaron Brook is the chair of the Ayn Rand Institute - he's very well spoken, has very good debate skills, and is highly intelligent. I can easily see how he would run circles around most people. But this is where Sam Seder's brilliance shines through. He is also well spoken, has good debate skills, and is intelligent. He was able to counter each point Brook made and further the conversation till the natural end.
The debate was civil and w/o any insults while still being challenging and intellectually stimulating. So completely unlike the usual online debate-bros. One of the things I tried to do while listening was pause it and try to form a counter to Brook on my own w/o listening to what Seder said. I needed to take far more time than Sam did and my answers were nowhere near as precise or well-articulated or counterattacking.
Honestly, their view of personal responsibility is just selfish.
Does a parent not have a personal responsibility to care for their child? Do doctors not have personal responsibility to provide the right treatment? No one is an island. We need each other to live and assuring that is the biggest responsibility we can have.
I'm going to lie to you and it's your fault if you believe me. I'm going to rip you off and it's your fault if you take the deal. I'm going to make it look like my building isn't about to collapse and it's your fault if you die when it falls on you.
But you dare not renege on a contract. Or take away my property rights. Those are sacrosanct.
Sam got him to outright say this, that basically he thinks everyone has a right to be selfish and not help others.
That is what was so beautiful about this debate. Like, by the end everyone sane/neutral knew exactly where the Randian was coming from and just how deranged of a position it was. Maybe it won't convince those who're in too deep, but it will certainly show some the errors of libertarianism.
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