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Latest Hit piece on Ayn Rand

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I've seen these cropping up intermittently over the past few years with higher and higher frequency. Here's the latest one I've seen from The Guardian:

"How Ayn Rand became the new right's version of Marx"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/05/new-right-ayn-rand-marx

Rife with ad-hominems and other logical fallacies, the author seems to demonstrate nothing more than a cliffs-note understanding of Objectivism, to say the least.

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The article claims, "according to a recent poll," that one third of Americans have read Atlas Shrugged. I wish.

EDIT: One thing I find very interesting about virulent Rand attackers like the author of this article is that they always VASTLY overestimate her actualy influence. Aside from saying that a third of Americans have read one of the longest novels ever written, the author claims that she is the back bone of the the Republican Party, is the basis for the Tea Party, was carried on by Alan Greenspan (the author litterally calls him her "most devoted member") is heavily supported by Limbaugh, Beck, and Santelli, and is the basis for the last thirty years of American political and economic life.

Better yet, the author calims that Greenspan followed Rand's philosophy "to the letter" by cutting taxes on the rich, eliminating regulation, and refusing to enforce laws on predatory lending. And all from his position as the head of the FEDERAL RESERVE!!! I wasn't aware that Greenspan declared himself king for a few years and took over the entire legislative and executive branches.

Edited by Dormin111
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The answer, methinks, is that publishers know that Rand's name sells. Did you ever see one of those ads or posters that say

SEX!

Now that we have your attention...

?

Edited by Reidy
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That's got to be it, Reidy. I usually read the comments on these things and find an adequate defense of Rand. On this piece there was about one comment per minute for the first half-hour, all from vicious toadies. I think the best course of action might be to ignore this one.

Edited by FeatherFall
clarity
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How could that even have been published?

Monbiot is pretty well known in leftist circles, especially in Britain. He can probably publish whatever he wants. Global warming is a big thing with him.

If you go to his website (the Guardian provides a link) there's a version of the same article with footnotes.

http://www.monbiot.c...or-psychopaths/

1. In the spirit of Rand, I suggest you don’t pay for it, but download it here: http://tfasinternati...Selfishness.pdf

I wonder if doing that is actionable. Attorneys for Ayn Rand Estate, are you reading this?

I gather the new Gary Weiss book was the trigger for this piece.

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The Gaurdian is not something that should be read by anyone. Most non-bbc british media is based off of the tabloid format anyways, and the BBC is the BBC.

I am just going to start refering to that little island as Air Strip One. Not because I think it is orwellian, just to belittle their culture.

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You can't libel the dead. Standard legal precept. End of story.

(What in these videos or in the book do you think would have risen, during Rand's lifetime, to the high standard that applies in these cases?)

Edited by Reidy
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You can't libel the dead. Standard legal precept. End of story.

(What in these videos or in the book do you think would have risen, during Rand's lifetime, to the high standard that applies in these cases?)

I'm not sure if this is directed at me, assuming it is, what I was referring to was Monbiot providing a link to what I assume is a pirate pdf of The Virtue of Selfishness, along with the suggestion that people get the book that way. It looks like he's openly being an accessory to petty theft.

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In that case you might well be right (at least about the people who put the pirated version up). Can you provide a time in the video? I'm not about to sit through twenty-five minutes of Monbiot to find out.

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In that case you might well be right (at least about the people who put the pirated version up). Can you provide a time in the video? I'm not about to sit through twenty-five minutes of Monbiot to find out.

Just click the link. I'm quoting from his footnotes.

If you go to his website (the Guardian provides a link) there's a version of the same article with footnotes.

http://www.monbiot.c...or-psychopaths/

1. In the spirit of Rand, I suggest you don’t pay for it, but download it here:

I wonder if doing that is actionable. Attorneys for Ayn Rand Estate, are you reading this?

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TFAS, which publishes the site Monbiot links to, looks like a legitimate outift with free-market leanings and even Randian sympathies. Their faculty includes Eric Daniels, an ARI stalwart, and Roger Pilon, and their various boards include Mark Levin and WSJ's Fred Barnes. Thus I doubt that the this is a pirate edition.

(I wonder if Monbiot stopped to think that, by leading his audience to a free copy of VoS, the most he'd accomplish is to bring it new readers.)

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Global warming is a big thing with him.

That'swhy I recognize this troll! Here's a off-topic thought: When you think of the mythic troll, you think of a hairy jerk who sits under a bridge. He is loath to leave his territory. So why describe people who visit web sites to which they are not native as, "trolls?" People who write tabloid-grade hack pieces on their own sites should be called trolls. But if so, what do we call the people who come here to start flame wars?

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(I wonder if Monbiot stopped to think that, by leading his audience to a free copy of VoS, the most he'd accomplish is to bring it new readers.)

For decades the strategy has been monolithic silence, and ignoring Rand. So hey please do get more people aware of her work. I'm glad he agrees everyone needs to know about her ideas.

Do you guys remember for a while that Christians used to say everything was inspired by the devil?

Like Dungeons and Dragons was the work of the devil, Harry Potter was witchcraft etc. And as a kid all you can think is "Wow! I have to try that!" If we could get some Christians saying Rand's books are satanic maybe we'd have her best ad campaign yet.

Edited by IchorFigure
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That's got to be it, Reidy. I usually read the comments on these things and find an adequate defense of Rand. On this piece there was about one comment per minute for the first half-hour, all from vicious toadies. I think the best course of action might be to ignore this one.

Some websites do filter the comments.

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