AraqirG Posted June 13, 2004 Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 Which of Miss Rand's books covers the epistemological and metaphysical aspect of objectivism? If a government is not allowed to tax individuals (b/c that would involve the government initiating force against citizens) how does the government pay for the army, court system and police? How is infrastructure controlled in Objectivism? Are all roads owned privately? What happens if a government initiates force against citizens (Stalin's purges, i.e. statism)? Are the citizens allowed to overthrough the government in self defense? What if those citizens haven't been harmed, for example what if the government kills all of my neighbors, except me. Can I initiate force against the government in self defense even though the government never hurt me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaight Posted June 13, 2004 Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 The main book Rand herself wrote on epistemology was Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. It's an in-depth examination of the Objectivist theory of concepts. There are a number of other issues in epistemology that don't yet have detailed treatments or which Rand herself didn't discuss in depth, such as the nature of perception and the nature of propositions. With respect to government financing in a free society, I suggest starting with Rand's article "Government Financing in a Free Soceity" in The Virtue of Selfishness. In a free society roads would be privately-owned, yes. Your final question deals in essence with the conditions for starting a revolution. A government that is arbitrarily and systematically killing the citizens whose rights it is supposed to be defending has forfeited its right to exist. You don't have to wait for the government to get around to you before starting to resist. A parallel case can be constructed on the individual level. Suppose someone brandishes a gun at you in a threatening way. Do you have to wait for them to pull the trigger before taking defensive action? Obviously not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AraqirG Posted June 13, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2004 thanks, greatly appriciate it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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