An Ayn Rand Diversion

OK, a little break from the nws of the day, and a point that's been rattling around in my brain for a few days:

Ayn Rand is a mid-20th century novelist and philosopher, much revered by many on the Right.  She was the leader of a movement at that time called Objectivism, which as I understand it posited that morality should not be based on traditional religion, but rather people should do what benefits themselves without regard to others.  From the Ayn Rand Institute:

1. Reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.
2. Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses) is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.
3. Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.
4. The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man’s rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.

As you can see, religion, Christianity or otherwise, doesn't get any emphasis here.  In fact, this philosophy seems completely antithetical to Christianity with its emphasis on charity to the poor and loving one's enemies.  Which makes it so puzzling that the Randian philosophy has taken hold so strongly with politicians from the Republican party.  Paul Ryan is said to be a strong devotee, as is Newt Gingrich.  Both also claim to be Christians, espousing strong pro-Life abortion views based on their beliefs in God.

There's just no way to square this circle.  Ayn Rand was an atheist.  She was actively hostile to the ideas of Jesus and pretty much any other religion.

I'm not a Christian either, so I'm not offended by any of this.  But the extent to which the Evangelical Christian Right has been sullied by support in the churches for government policies that are the exact opposite of the teachings of Jesus is just staggering.  By their strong support for two pieces of their agenda (abortion and gay rights), Republicans have pulled this whole community over to an economic philosophy that a Christian theologian would never countenance.

Worship of the Captains of Industry (posted by DT)

I'm a social worker, and proud of the work I do with people who are in psychiatric distress. I've worked a great deal with people at the bottom of the food chain during my career. Now when I used to tell people what I did, the most common response from those not in the field was something like "Oh, that's so noble!". It can feel a bit patronizing, actually, but it feels good too that people appreciate and value the work I do.

But in the past few years I think something has changed in America. It used to be that social workers, teachers, and police were, if not high-status in most ways, at least seen as people who sacrificed something of themselves for the good of society. Meanwhile, those in the business world were seen as people more out for themselves- not greedy bastards or anything, but also not noble do-gooders.

But now, as the works of Ayn Rand have swept the Right, the new Heroes are the captains of industry. They provide the jobs for the rest of us. They pay the taxes that support society (at least for now, until the Right gets its way on tax reform). They take the rest of us, the meek and helpless proletarians, on their shoulders and bequeath in their magnanimity the jobs that will allow us to maintain our bare existence.

Now I always thought that the executives and the successful enterpreneurs were pretty well compensated for their hard work and risk-taking. Our capitalist system rewards these winners with mountains of money; in fact the mountains have grown considerably over the past 10 years in comparison to the rest of us. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that "two-thirds of the nation's total income gains from 2002 to 2007 flowed to the top 1 percent of U.S. households, and that top 1 percent held a larger share of income in 2007 than at any time since 1928..."

So I don't think one can argue that the winners are being disrespected by the market. But on top of the fact that the rules of the game are continuing to tilt further and further in the direction of the Haves, I also have to endure pundits telling me that I should be thanking the Captains on bended knee for allowing me to eat their scraps. And this after 2007-2008, when the creme de la creme of the Overclass at Goldman Sachs and AIG destroyed the economy along with five million jobs that look like they're not coming back for many years. I'm supposed to thank these thieves?

Look, I believe in capitalism. To paraphrase Churchill, capitalism is a terrible way to run an economy, and the only thing worse is Everything Else. We do need the Captains of Industry. But they need us too. And they're not sacrificing themselves for us- they're just doing what they've always done, which is try to make as much money as they can, however they can.

You don't get brownie points for that in my book. Your bank statement will just have to be enough.

UPDATE: Here's a Youtube of Sarah Pailin talking with a woman who is criticizing her for quitting the governorship of Alaska. The part that strikes me and many others is the look she gives her daughter when the woman they are talking with tells them that she is a teacher:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKflKzmfRCw&feature=player_embedded

Maybe my faithful readers think I'm reading too much into a look, but look for yourselves and decide (at the 1:10 mark)

UPDATE 2: My friend the Gun Toting Liberal has a related post up here: http://guntotingliberal.blogspot.com/2010/08/capitalism-say-it-soft-and-its-almost.html with which I totally agree. I thought I'd bring my massive traffic his way.