Never try to engage with Ayn Rand's work in good faith: worst mistake of my life. She and her fanboys are basically the human version of brainy smurf. Even the name, Objectivism, is her bragging about herself. Thus since they are akin to brainy smurf, don't bother arguing with them because they will claim omniscience. Instead, deal with them as the rest of the smurfs dealt with brainy smurf.

Me: "Oil companies are using their private property to inflict environmental pollution that I do not consent to. Since they are using their property for evil, we should limit their use of a property. This way no one gets physically harmed, not even the oil tycoon."

Rand's Response: "This is stupid, how dare you tell someone what to do with their property. Live and let live! It is actually moral to let people use things that rightfully belong to them for immoral reasons."

Native Americans: "I just want to be left alone please."

Rand's response: "No! You are dumb dumbs so the government should steal from you! You clearly aren't blessed with perfect intelligence like me so you don't know what to do with your property. I do! Now make me some treats!"

Native Americans: "Didn't you just say people who own property should do whatever they please with it, and anyone who has a problem with it should mind their own business?"

Rand's Response: "Ugh, you fucking IDIOTS! Clearly you know nothing about my philosophy of IKnowEverythingIsm."

Me: "Uhhh...okay. I gotta say, insisting that you are the standing authority on all knowledge is a little dogmatic, it sounds kind of like a reli..."

Rand's Response: "UGH! RELIGION IS FOR IDIOTS AND IS AN INSULT TO THINKING!"

I genuinely wanted to read something from the right's POV so I could better understand them, lest I become as dogmatic as Rand here. So far, the closest I got was reading some classical liberal stuff like Plato's Republic, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, and some Nietzsche. But it seems like anything further is just full on pompous dogshit. The Chapo book had more depth than this.

  • happybadger [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    1. I'm an engineer alienated from my labour but I don't understand alienation and my alienated consumption doesn't fill the void

    2. I have a higher income because I worked hard to become an engineer and am really smart in this particular way

    3. [Passive cultural indoctrination of Malthusian overpopulation theory, protestant work ethic, and white supremacy/patriarchy]

    4. I'm better because I'm smarter and work harder than other people. My income is threatened by taxes to support the unworthy poor. All of my engineer friends are similarly smart in the only kinds of thought we engage in so I mistake it for general intelligence.

    5. If all the engineers stopped working in my dumb guy understanding of unionism, we'd get the full benefits of our labour in my dumb guy understanding of the labour theory of value

    6. I can't formally accept these things because I accept all the reactionary framing that materially benefits me. The best I can do is that libertarian city in New Hampshire where they had to fight bears because they didn't believe in municipal trash collection. We'll all move there and we'll be smart together and that will make a utopia.

    • star_wraith [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I think about the people I know who like Rand's books. They are all people who a.) were born with a certain degree of privilege - upper middle class parents who could afford nice things; and b.) landed jobs where they're in the top 5% or so of income earners. When you're in that situation, it's easy to read Atlas Shrugged and feel like a kindred spirit with the protagonist - someone who's so successful and it's all because she's amazing. And one who isn't as successful as them/her is just a hater and a loser.