Historian explains Ayn Rand's philosophy | Jennifer Burns and Lex Fridman

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  • Опубліковано 4 лют 2025

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  • @LexClips
    @LexClips  14 днів тому +7

    Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: ua-cam.com/video/Rz-4ulRKnz4/v-deo.html
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    *GUEST BIO:*
    Jennifer Burns is a historian of ideas, focusing on the evolution of economic, political, and social ideas in the United States in the 20th century. She wrote two biographies, one on Milton Friedman, and the other on Ayn Rand.
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  • @ryancatambing
    @ryancatambing 9 днів тому +41

    I am quite surprised we have circled back to discuss Ayn Rand's Objectivism once again. She was right in a good number of things such as individual freedom, the primacy of rationality and being able to think independently. If she were alive today, she would have been thrilled at the possibilities available today and at the same time horrified how society is eating itself under the guise of altruism and liberalism.

    • @EduardoRodriguez-du2vd
      @EduardoRodriguez-du2vd 9 днів тому +10

      Rationality is a deceptive concept. People do not decide their actions after considering them rationally. People decide and act, and then subsequently justify their behavior by rationalizing it.
      You do not know why you act. You do not know the totality of factors that shaped any of your decisions, and it was beyond your reach to evaluate them within the realm of logic.
      Did you evaluate, rationally, the importance of posting this comment, or did you simply react without analyzing the causes of your action, only considering the meaning of your response?
      Now that I bring it up, you will search for reasons and consider whether they are logical.
      ---
      No one thinks independently. That is a myth.
      ---
      We are a biological species, and our behaviors have a significant proportion of biological factors.
      Empathy and altruism result from the production of certain neurochemicals. In our species, these behaviors are present because they favor our survival.
      One can force negative associations to reduce these behaviors, but the resulting person is less suited for social coexistence.
      Libertarian ideology is childish nonsense.

    • @jeffgojail
      @jeffgojail 9 днів тому

      If she was alive today, she'd still be collecting Social Security and Medicare just like she did when she was alive, making her a massive fking hypocrite.

    • @mikeg2482
      @mikeg2482 9 днів тому

      ​@@EduardoRodriguez-du2vd Hello Eduardo.
      I hope that you don't mind my saying ... it seems like maybe you were taught an inaccurate superficial interpretation of Ayn Rand from a postmodern professor.
      Also, based on your statements I would not be surprised to discover that you maybe have not actually read Ayn Rand's materials. She repeatedly and clearly asserted her own dislike for libertarian ideology.
      Also, altruism is the equivalent of "self-sacrifice" ... it is a bias toward suicide ... this means that it cannot possibly be a species life strategy. You can study the materials of August Comte who invented the word altruism and you will discover that this definition is accurate.
      I'm guessing that you and I might agree that each person typically has immediate automatic emotional reactions and emotional flows in each moment and in each situation. These occur without our choice or control, and without advanced warning.
      However, there is always a moment of pause available where the person can either:
      1) Allow themselves to be lazy, aimless, short-range, and childish while having their next behaviors governed only by those automatic emotional reactions. Ayn Rand often referred to this as hedonistic or subjective guidance of one's behavior.
      2) Or the person can instead choose simple adult self-regulation with their next behaviors being controlled by their previously chosen long-range standards, their chosen character, their chosen accountabilities, and their chosen life aims. Ayn Rand often referred to this as objective guidance of one's behavior.
      There is an abundance of evidence to support what I am saying, as demonstrated by some common examples:
      A) Each time that a parent has a strong emotional impulse to purchase an impractical sports car or other unnecessary luxury... and instead they control themselves in order to set that money aside in order to better provide security for their children and themselves.
      B) Each time that a person who has fitness commitments is experiencing a craving or impulse to skip their walk in the park or indulge in sugar treats or booze ... and instead they simply start walking, while also simply refusing to eat the tempting treat.
      C) Each time that a student feels a strong desire to avoid their homework so that they can goof off by playing video games or drinking games ... and instead of following their aimless desire they let the impulse pass while responsibly completing their studies.
      D) Each time that a person gets upset with someone else while they are driving their car or working or doing whatever ... and instead of slapping them or starting road rage with yelling or other violence .... they simply do nothing.
      It's called simple self-discipline and simple work ethic and simple delayed gratification. Many millions of normal people are actually doing this several times everyday, and these abundant demonstrations contradict your claims.
      You already knew this was true before you posted your thoughts, agreed?

    • @Wolf-bz6kq
      @Wolf-bz6kq 8 днів тому

      Ignore the fact that she supported the American Nazi party or created the concept of birth control so on her words so poor people particularly black people from reproducing more

    • @looper2586
      @looper2586 8 днів тому

      @@EduardoRodriguez-du2vd An animal was hurt in the writing of this comment.
      The hurt that originates from this comment is significant while the importance of its content is questionable.
      It's all about having the stomach to digest the other's ideas without resisting them.
      That's what makes us open our eyes.
      It doesn't matter if something's false.
      What matters is why it hurts so fucking much.

  • @pasthomas
    @pasthomas 7 днів тому +7

    she changed my life.

  • @kalyansubramani7076
    @kalyansubramani7076 7 днів тому +4

    I am an Indian, living in India. I started a business called "John Galt Creations." It failed, but it was a worthwhile adventure, because of people I got to meet.

  • @JoeCharogoff
    @JoeCharogoff 4 дні тому +1

    My favorite song writer was Neil Piert from Rush. He was an avid reader and fan of Rand. There is nothing more important to humanity than exploring and improving self. Nearly every person lives subconsciously without even caring about that effort. I agree with Rand there 100%, but she clearly did more wishful thinking than actually turning rationale into action. She was human after all.

  • @Publius-24
    @Publius-24 8 днів тому +8

    Ayn Rand's novels are Romanticism not Realism. All great art should inspire people to aspire.

    • @1rjona
      @1rjona 8 днів тому

      Mien Kampf also inspired people to aspire (for other people's land)

    • @Publius-24
      @Publius-24 8 днів тому

      @1rjona Do you think that mien Kampf is great art?

    • @1rjona
      @1rjona 8 днів тому +1

      @Publius-24 this is your definition. Also it was popular in the 1930s

    • @Publius-24
      @Publius-24 7 днів тому

      @@1rjona Ayn Rand did not advocate for force to be used against anyone but criminals. You are making a false equivalency. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that deals with Art, Beauty, and good taste. Ayn Rand's novels are Romantic Art. Mien Kampf is not art. It is political propaganda written to promote grievances. To incite people towards hatred, violence, and revenge.
      Popularity is not a reliable judge of what is good, beautiful, or true. Modern Art is proof of this fact.

  • @NathanCline12-21
    @NathanCline12-21 10 днів тому +21

    "Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty. The obedient must be slaves." -Henry David Thoreau

  • @drizzle452
    @drizzle452 9 днів тому +7

    That conversation where Roark replies, “I don’t think of you”…I’m pretty sure Don Draper says the exact same thing in a similar context in Mad Men.

  • @dotbasing
    @dotbasing 9 днів тому +10

    AR meant (rational) self-interest, which is not at all captured by self-actualisation. Self-actualisation is about reaching one's full potential (hence a narrower concept). Also it requires lot of intellectual honesty and courage to not worry about being "provocative". Also, your guest tends to psychologise AR a lot (e.g. that AR was not beautiful, grew up is USSR, etc). Give me some dots about your guest and I could also psychologise why she mis-interprets AR... Also, in the movie Survival Island, Kelly Brooks was "raped". But it ended up not being a rape. Why? BTW, here is an excerpt from the Fountainhead Rape scene: "They had been united in an understanding beyond the violence, beyond the deliberate obscenity of his action..." Clearly, it will take people much more "maturity" and "intellectual breadth" to fathom the Fountainhead rape scene. While most people acknowledge that AR was an intellectual powerhouse, they do not make the intellectual effort to understand her fully.

    • @cbr8206
      @cbr8206 7 днів тому +1

      Well said and accurate! Thank you.

  • @mtarlo215
    @mtarlo215 9 днів тому +3

    This entire thing is incredible. This woman is truly impressive. I should write her and see if me and my wife can live with her so I can soak up her knowledge.
    The one thing I will say that kind of bothers me with Rand’s critics. Is unlike many of her contemporaries she actually saw, lived with/in and fled the consequences of the collective ideology. She may have diagnosed some of the issues incorrectly but I’m always a bit uncomfortable rejecting those on the ground, in favor of those in the castle. She was warning everyone about something and she was not wrong about that .

    • @frankmarsh1159
      @frankmarsh1159 9 днів тому

      She left Russia in 1926. Her critics saw her as a fanatic precisely because she came from Russia. She made a name for herself in the 1950's during the Red Scare...Her contemporaries saw her as an alarmist. Which she obviously was.

  • @lorenzorodriguez6192
    @lorenzorodriguez6192 5 днів тому +3

    Who's John Galt?

  • @wetwingnut
    @wetwingnut 9 днів тому +5

    Thanks for exposing me to Jennifer Burns. I appreciate the way that she clarifies and contextualizes.
    I found Ayn Rand as a high school senior in the late seventies and she changed my outlook on life. I thought that I knew just about everything there was to know about her (good and "bad"), but I haven't been able to stand anyone's take on her since. They are either utterly dismissive - usually missing the point of her allegory and misinterpreting her philosophy because they've never actually read her, or they are fawning and credulous - also often missing her point.
    Jennifer made several observations about Rand that resonated with my experience of her writings and were also new to me.
    I will look further into Jennifer's work.
    Thanks again.

  • @justincecilstudio3506
    @justincecilstudio3506 9 днів тому +3

    I read “Anthem” back in high school since we had to read it for my English class. I found the story itself intriguing and it made me think. Ended up reading “The Fountainhead” after that. For many reasons I did not become an Objectivist, although I’m glad that I exposed myself to Rand’s work so that I was at least familiar with it.
    Personally I found Howard Roark to be, at best, kind of a boring character. While I’m all for people going after their dreams, I wished that there was more to his character. I’ve gained inspiration in life from other literary characters. I’ve also read about actual real-life architects like Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry, and found them much more fascinating as people.
    If I were the writer of “The Fountainhead,” here’s one thing I would have done differently. At one point Roark ends up working in a stone quarry after multiple misadventures in his quest to become an uncompromising architect. I imagine that was meant to highlight just how uncompromising Roark was, that he would rather do backbreaking labor than compromise on his work at all. However, I feel like there are a lot of options in-between being an architect vs. doing labor in a quarry, so here’s what I would have done instead.
    In the beginning of “The Fountainhead,” Roark is enjoying a skinny dip. In fact the first two lines of the giant novel are, “Howard Roark laughed. He stood naked at the edge of a cliff.” Roark enjoying a swim is one of the few times in the novel in which he gains joy from something other than geeking out over architecture.
    What if Roark ended up working as either a swim instructor or a lifeguard? Perhaps at someplace like a resort? If he truly was skilled at swimming this is a job he could have obtained. He might think to himself, “Okay, my ultimate goal is still to become an architect, but this will be a good job for now. I’ll get paid to go swimming.” It would showcase a man determined to not only compromise on his dreams, but still determined to enjoy his life before reaching his ultimate goal. I feel that a scene like that would have been more inspirational than him working in a stone quarry.
    Perhaps Roark impresses the owner of the resort with his hard work and dedication. Perhaps the owner sees Roark making drawings of buildings during his break and is enchanted by them. If the owner is planning on expanding the resort and discovers that Roark has architectural training and experience, then perhaps he or she will then hire him to design it.
    This would have also been a great place for Roark to meet Dominique (although personally I think her character was just insane and that she needed mental help, but to each his own). Maybe Dominique first spots Roark at the pool or beach wearing nothing but a swimsuit and goes, “Oh my…”
    Also, in real-life both Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry designed furniture along with buildings (I’ve actually seen some of Wright’s furniture at the Chicago Institute of Art). What if at least as a side hustle Roark designed and built furniture? Or if he used his skills to design and make birdhouses and dollhouses? This would have brought attention to Roark and people purchasing these items might be impressed enough to actually hire or recommend him as an architect. Roark would have been using his skills and creativity to create, and would have had total freedom and control. I feel that this turn of events would have been celebrated by Objectivists or anyone who has at least some admiration of Rand’s work, because it would have showed an entrepreneurial spirit and determination.

  • @sajithr
    @sajithr 5 днів тому +3

    Lex does great long form interviews but i’m so confused in this conversation because they talk about her flaws and the flaws in her thinking and philosophy then also seem to admire her and wonder why she doesn’t get her dues and isn’t respected widely. I’m thinking “dude you just analyzed how her thinking was all bullshit and never based on reality and her life and choices just showed example after example of the BS”

  • @jeffatwood9417
    @jeffatwood9417 5 днів тому +1

    Self-interested is more to the truth, rather than “actualization”
    She had to write a fantasy world to demonstrate her points.

  • @Publius-24
    @Publius-24 8 днів тому +2

    "Charity is no part of the legislative duty of government. It would puzzle any gentleman to lay his finger on any part of the Constitution which would authorize the government to interpose in the relief of…sufferers.”
    James Madison

  • @supernumiphone7258
    @supernumiphone7258 5 днів тому

    "Her insights are not insights because they are too idealized rather than being rooted in a theory of human nature that people find plausible."
    Her very last line in this video summarizes my criticism of Rand quite well.

  • @stevensolof7058
    @stevensolof7058 7 днів тому +1

    I believe the criticism of Rands philosophy "not being rooted in the real world" misses one of her core justifications... which is its easy to point the finger at "selfish geniuses" when too often the collectivists just aren't cooperative at a serious level, as suggested by Roark and Rearden. Rearden basically said that he wasn't against helping people, he was reasonably concerned about the government coming in and poorly applying his work to society... and anyone who has tried to innovate in any serious way, or engage in basic project management, ought to understand.

  • @rayramos8435
    @rayramos8435 6 днів тому +1

    Her description of Rand is particularly apt. He I’ve always thought her writing was terrible and her beliefs were born of a rejection of the place she came from and the admittedly awful things happening there. Who would be a better cheerleader of capitalism than someone who comes to the US from a communist country. She kinda reminds me of the Korean woman who was able to defect from N. Korea. She went from talking about the atrocities she survived to the alt-right token, yukking it
    up with Joe Rogan.

  • @matthewjankovic3846
    @matthewjankovic3846 5 днів тому

    The greatest philosophers will never be heard. There are blind spots in every ist and ism.

  • @tragickingdom15
    @tragickingdom15 10 днів тому +23

    Rand was way ahead of her time. So much of what she said has come to pass. She was onto things 80 years ago that most people just woke up to in the past few years.

    • @Nope-w2h
      @Nope-w2h 10 днів тому

      Rand is a subversive jay

  • @cbr8206
    @cbr8206 7 днів тому

    Ayn Rand's "selfishness" means acting in one's "rational self-interest."
    "Rational self-interest" means taking actions that are reasoned to support one's fuether advancement in life toward a specific or overall goal. Stealing from someone almost certainly is not "selfish" because stealing is likely to lead to arrest and imprisonment. Also, stealing is typically frowned upon by other who one may need in order to achieve certain goals.

  • @andrehendrik
    @andrehendrik 7 днів тому +2

    Ayn Rand was born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum.

    • @mito88
      @mito88 5 днів тому

      related to zinoviev?

  • @bernadettedietz9404
    @bernadettedietz9404 9 днів тому

    It’s all about the balance between individual and group, altruism and self interest. Societal structures involves finding that balance that works for the most people! Both are absolutely required for survival for humans.

  • @psikeyhackr6914
    @psikeyhackr6914 5 днів тому

    Didn't she make some comments about the government not stealing private property.
    But she came here from Russia about 30 years after the Indian Wars.

  • @Publius-24
    @Publius-24 8 днів тому

    "Government is instituted to protect property of every sort; as well that which lies in the various rights of individuals, as that which the term particularly expresses. This being the end of government, that alone is a just government, which impartially secures to every man, whatever is his own."
    James Madison

  • @AllTenThousand
    @AllTenThousand 9 днів тому +5

    At 35:00 - she is primarily a fiction writer who uses stogid language to have characters take turns explaining things to one another, and her "philosophy" is unattached to any other philosophical work with which it can be fairly tested. Whether by ignorance or design. Not a "top thinker" in either realm, she had a personality cult with a few weirdos who happened to get famous.

  • @AA-gu1vv
    @AA-gu1vv 10 днів тому +3

    One man's fantasy is another man's reality.

  • @marklentz1095
    @marklentz1095 5 днів тому +1

    Ignore Ayn at your peril.

    • @mito88
      @mito88 5 днів тому

      unassumed road

  • @jezebelinadancer
    @jezebelinadancer 10 днів тому +3

    All of that and a walking cigarette advertisement.

  • @presence5426
    @presence5426 7 днів тому +4

    If you think of Rand as a malignant narcissist, her life & work makes sense.

  • @AllTenThousand
    @AllTenThousand 9 днів тому +4

    At 22:00 - right, ayn rand was not a proponent of reason, she built a life on rationalizing her various perversions. Earlier, rhe professor says her fictional paradigms were "unrealistic" - correct, that's why she is no kind of philosopher, she's basically Stephen King with John gault as carrie.

  • @matthewstroud4294
    @matthewstroud4294 9 днів тому +2

    The "I don't think of you" quote is wildly out of context here, showing the unfortunately shallow knowledge of both interviewer and interviewee.

  • @AdamPNelson
    @AdamPNelson 8 днів тому +4

    Christians should approach Ayn Rand’s philosophy with caution. Her rejection of altruism defies Christ’s call to selfless love and service. Though her emphasis on individual responsibility may resonate, her glorification of self-interest undermines the biblical mandate to care for the poor and vulnerable. Christ’s example of ultimate sacrifice stands in stark opposition to Rand’s worldview.

    • @SufferDYT
      @SufferDYT 8 днів тому

      "He helps those who help themselves"

    • @keyser021
      @keyser021 8 днів тому

      @@SufferDYT The only teaching of Christ to be held above all else is His Sermon On The Mount. Ayn Rand was a degenerate, techno-vampire who believed that might makes right, and whomever invents the more complex instruments of mayhem and obliteration is the "rightful" heir to humanity's mantle of domination. She whispered the wiles of Satan, she cheered on the "white man" conducting its genocide of the native american, because they were simply "brutes" who deserved to be dealt with by "better men". You should really learn who Jesus was and what He taught humanity, rather than from the Fallen, especially those from the tribe that hammered the nails to the Cross in retribution.

    • @AdamPNelson
      @AdamPNelson 8 днів тому +1

      ​@@SufferDYTGod helps the helpless.

    • @MercuryCold
      @MercuryCold 5 днів тому

      ​@@SufferDYT,ayn rand was on food stamps.

    • @mito88
      @mito88 5 днів тому

      ​@AdamPNelson hapless

  • @wetwingnut
    @wetwingnut 9 днів тому +1

    Reading the comments it's all the same BS. Rand didn't deal with children. Rand's fiction is bad. (It's allegory.) Her philosophy is "unsophisticated" (whatever that means).
    Rand accurately pointed out the logical end of the moral road that modern society was travelling down. She drew a frame around the nature of the rational individual who produces ALL invention.
    In short she was writing to encourage and inspire people like me - not most of you.
    What she did not write about is irrelevant.

  • @OneLine122
    @OneLine122 9 днів тому +2

    She simply used motte and bailey fallacy. It could only work in the US where critical thinking education is low or absent entirely.
    It's actually normal people would hate her since it's her philosophy. The weird thing is her fans who don't.
    Someone calling her emotions objective though, must be the most narcissistic thing one can do and really it's for those type of people.

  • @benquinneyiii7941
    @benquinneyiii7941 8 днів тому

    Enlightened

  • @derekwarren1548
    @derekwarren1548 10 днів тому +2

    *** WISE AS THE SERPENT ***
    (Knowledge is Sacrificing your Beliefs One thought at a Time)
    Along the plains of your subconscious, wanders the herd of your beliefs, that is comprised of individual thought Gazelle.
    Who are hunted by focus Cheetah, with eyes in front.
    Focus Cheetah is constantly assaulting the herd transforming your beliefs, digesting subconscious knowledge, and fueling the conscious mind, one thought at a time.
    Some thoughts gazelle are small, and easy to tackle. Other bigger thoughts that just can't seem to be grasped.
    Now, put your mind out to pasture, and let your thoughts graze on muse. Drink from the spring of conception, as the conscious herd drifts through stimulating hues.
    Many wish to learn the way to win, but never to lose. Many wish to learn to live, but never to die. You must learn the art of dying. We are both the Cheetah & Gazelle.

    • @1234bbrown
      @1234bbrown 9 днів тому

      lol. Is that from one of those cards

  • @jamesbryan1731
    @jamesbryan1731 8 днів тому +1

    She obviously isn’t qualified to discuss Rand. Regardless, if you don’t like Rand’s fiction or her philosophy, you have to admit, Atlas Shrugged is prescient vis a vis the last 10 years.

  • @dwwolf4636
    @dwwolf4636 7 днів тому +2

    Selfish is a magic word.
    It means: you have stuff, I want stuff, give me your stuff.

    • @murat8194
      @murat8194 6 днів тому

      No one wants your any of your nothing.

    • @leeuwbama9433
      @leeuwbama9433 16 годин тому

      For Rand selfishness meant: I have my stuff, you have your stuff, let's trade or keep the stuff we have to ourselves and part our ways. It isn't selfish to steal, mooch or loot, because in the context of a lifetime the consequences will surely turn against you.

  • @bernadettedietz9404
    @bernadettedietz9404 9 днів тому +1

    I read her books years ago but I sure don’t remember her idea of self interest as the same as self actualization. Freedoms may enable us to pursue self actualization, but also key to this are housing, health care, education access, etc.

  • @carlloeber
    @carlloeber 9 днів тому +2

    what my ask is rational about smoking tobacco like she did ..

    • @craigpoer
      @craigpoer 7 днів тому

      Tobacco is great. Many people enjoy it.

  • @carlloeber
    @carlloeber 9 днів тому

    This is my favorite of your shows Lex .. so accessible .. except for the sex part at the end when I got there ..

  • @papa_pt
    @papa_pt 9 днів тому

    My take away from at last shrugged.. if you're gonna own a pizza place or make pancakes, at LEAST do a good job at the one thing you're supposed to make
    So much shitty pizza.. meanwhile it's not that hard.. and it's the one thing you're supposed to make

  • @ronobrien7187
    @ronobrien7187 7 днів тому

    To agree with someone 100% of the time is not rational. Being rational is to allow ideas to evolve through discussion. If all you do is agree with a person that is not a discussion. I know you all agree.

    • @leeuwbama9433
      @leeuwbama9433 16 годин тому

      It isn't rational to agree with someone all the time **provided you haven't justified those beliefs yourself**.

  • @NumeroSystem
    @NumeroSystem 10 днів тому +24

    My favorite part about Atlas Shrugged is how the capitalist utopia requires a fictional free energy machine to exist.

    • @jamesalexander8872
      @jamesalexander8872 9 днів тому +2

      It doesn't require it. It just makes it smooth.

    • @rafaelcconceicao
      @rafaelcconceicao 9 днів тому

      You have it upside down. The capitalist “utopia” is required for the free energy machine to exist. Re-read the book again as you didn’t get it.

    • @asaprobbie6478
      @asaprobbie6478 9 днів тому +2

      Even if it were a requirement we have one. And it’s not fictional.

    • @BeniBalak
      @BeniBalak 9 днів тому +2

      Just one of the reasons her books are shite sci-fi

    • @rafaelcconceicao
      @rafaelcconceicao 9 днів тому +4

      @@BeniBalak imagine saying 500 years ago we could make chips from sand

  • @alanmoberly64
    @alanmoberly64 8 днів тому

    I am amused when I watch so called intellectuals converse with one another. They assume that people watching need them to explain higher thought. There are many people out there that are very well self educated that would put these people to shame. You never hear about them because learning is their hobby and they choose to stay in the background.

  • @SamKGrove
    @SamKGrove 9 днів тому +8

    Rand's shortcoming was a failure to recognize her own subjective nature.

    • @noahfine85
      @noahfine85 9 днів тому

      That’s everyone’s shortcoming, and a reiteration of what the sister above said lol.

  • @billridgeway8700
    @billridgeway8700 6 днів тому

    Ayn Rand wrote a book called The Alchemist?

  • @Perfect_Call
    @Perfect_Call 10 днів тому +2

    This grand philosophy falls into schism because of a petty romantic jealousy 😅…of course

  • @williambranch4283
    @williambranch4283 9 днів тому +1

    Very popular circa 1970. Was a teen follower. Left hater.

  • @markpiersall9815
    @markpiersall9815 9 днів тому +11

    Ayn Rand father has Syphilis and ran a Pharmacy which back in the day mostly sold pornography, liquor, pills that were full of Opium or amphetamines. She hated Communism because Lenin and Trotsky shut down the Vodka distillery's and burned the pornography. Stalin took power, reopened the distillery's and invaded Poland - twice; once in 1920 and again in 1939.
    Ayn Rand promotes whatever greedy adventure for me must be good for society has never worked. Alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, pornography and prostitution are not a means to create meaningful productivity. Meaningful productivity is clothing, shoes, roofing material. Her works should be held up as the shame of a sociopath.

    • @FlyFederalist
      @FlyFederalist 9 днів тому +1

      Your comment about Ayn Rand contains misunderstandings and outright falsehoods.
      1. Ayn Rand’s Father and His Pharmacy:
      The commenter alleges that Ayn Rand’s father had syphilis and operated a pharmacy that primarily sold pornography, liquor, and pills containing opium or amphetamines.
      There is no credible evidence to support these claims. Zinovy Rosenbaum, Rand’s father, owned a pharmacy in St. Petersburg, Russia, which provided for the family’s modest living. His establishment was a legitimate business, and there is no historical record indicating involvement in illicit activities or that he suffered from syphilis. 
      2. Rand’s Opposition to Communism.
      The commenter suggests that Rand’s hatred of communism was due to Lenin and Trotsky shutting down vodka distilleries and burning pornography.
      This assertion is a misrepresentation of Rand’s motivations. Her opposition to communism stemmed from personal experiences during the Russian Revolution. The Bolshevik government confiscated her father’s pharmacy, leading to significant hardship for her family. These events deeply influenced her anti-communist stance and her advocacy for individual rights and capitalism. 
      3. Rand’s Philosophy on Productivity and Morality.
      The commenter criticizes Rand for promoting the idea that any greedy endeavor is beneficial to society and argues that vices like alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, pornography, and prostitution do not lead to meaningful productivity.
      This is a mischaracterization of Rand’s philosophy. She advocated for rational self-interest and productive achievement as moral imperatives. Rand emphasized the creation of value through innovation and hard work, considering these as the foundations of a prosperous society. She did not promote hedonism or unrestrained greed. 
      Conclusion:
      Her opposition to communism was rooted in personal experiences of property confiscation and the suppression of individual rights. Rand’s philosophy centers on rational self-interest and productive achievement, not the endorsement of vice or unbridled greed.

    • @sergiyavorski9977
      @sergiyavorski9977 9 днів тому +9

      Your idiocy is mind boggling.

    • @markpiersall9815
      @markpiersall9815 9 днів тому

      @sergiyavorski9977 Go read the book of Mark; there is a warning about placing stones in other's path. Ayn Rand's thinking is parasitic. She was a degenerate.

    • @markpiersall9815
      @markpiersall9815 9 днів тому

      Ayn Rand believes in placing stones in other's path for her personal profit. She was a degenerate.

    • @jamesalexander8872
      @jamesalexander8872 9 днів тому +3

      You make zero sense

  • @frankmcfarlane-e8m
    @frankmcfarlane-e8m 6 днів тому

    16:00 ish AR sees the world in her ideal form
    the world as an ideal a perfect world as it should be
    not as it is...flawed...
    she is intolerant of the flawed world
    and as such she is unrealistic...the world is full of flaws

  • @EduardoRodriguez-du2vd
    @EduardoRodriguez-du2vd 9 днів тому +6

    The 'objective' reality exists, and it is not accessible to humans. The objective is that which does not depend on human interpretation. There is no consideration of reality that is not a human interpretation. Saying 'objective human interpretation' is an oxymoron.
    Ayn Rand was a person with emotional problems. Her 'ideology' reflects this and is completely irrational, exactly opposite to what she believed.
    The success of the human species is the result of not having implemented Rand's ideas.
    We are a highly social species dependent on our group.
    Humans do not survive by themselves.

    • @iamrysheem
      @iamrysheem 9 днів тому

      Pretty sure we could survive probably better to say we mostly dont want to. Everything else I completely agree with.

    • @DrMackSplackem
      @DrMackSplackem 9 днів тому

      Wrong, read Philosophy: Who Needs It (I can tell you haven't). "Not accessible to humans..." Are physicists all just cranks?

  • @crex1074
    @crex1074 9 днів тому +1

    Ayn Rand was merely expressing hypergamy in her views on sex. Women are "hardwired" to desire a man that they believe is their better. Thus her idea about male v female sexual relations (that clearly had nothing to do with her philosophy) was "independent" of her views on human power dynamics. Any Evo-psych understanding will explain her views on sex.

  • @drumsticksusa
    @drumsticksusa 9 днів тому

    No aliens? What?

  • @ryam4632
    @ryam4632 5 днів тому

    You have invited a hack detractor of a philosopher to discuss her ideas. Your standards are quite low.

  • @Eriugena8
    @Eriugena8 8 днів тому +2

    I am not a professor, but can sum up her philosophy thusly: 'Goo goo, gaa gaa, Mine!!'. Except bad things, those are yours.

  • @centercannothold9760
    @centercannothold9760 8 днів тому +1

    Jennifer Burns has no real understanding of Ayn Rand's philosophy.

    • @leeuwbama9433
      @leeuwbama9433 15 годин тому

      At least substantiate your claim. This is just lazy. . .

  • @justindaffronte9702
    @justindaffronte9702 6 днів тому

    Wow lots of communists on this thread. Who is John Galt.

  • @Mentanglement
    @Mentanglement 9 днів тому +4

    The largest gap in Rand's demonstrative philosophy is the lack of any reference to Children.

    • @sergiyavorski9977
      @sergiyavorski9977 9 днів тому +3

      Name a philosophy that has. reference to children.

    • @jamesalexander8872
      @jamesalexander8872 9 днів тому

      She clearly addressed the issues of marriage and children

    • @MetaPhysStore0770
      @MetaPhysStore0770 9 днів тому

      ​​@@sergiyavorski9977doofus!! philosophy about fatherhood and children= aristotle, heracltus, stoism, cicero, parrhestia, et cetera😂😂😂

    • @Publius-24
      @Publius-24 8 днів тому

      ​@@MetaPhysStore0770
      Teachers, who educate children, deserve more honour than parents, who merely gave them birth; for the latter provided mere life, while the former ensure a good life.
      Aristotle

  • @spiritofgoldfish
    @spiritofgoldfish 8 днів тому

    Rewarding ownership and not productivity is irrational.
    The classical economists beginning with Adam Smith identified the economic rents (unearned income) extracted by feudal lords as the problem preventing a free market that the government should solve. The neoliberal (Austrian, Libertarian, Chicago School Monetarist) counter-enlightenment led by the super wealthy was to not acknowledge any such problem, as the marketing front for their banks (FIRE, finance, insurance and real estate) whose vocation is rent seeking and who directly employ the modern neo feudal government.
    "The classical idea of a free market was one free from economic rent, not free for landlords, monopolists and creditors to charge whatever they wanted without reference to the cost of production. To repeat, the 19th century’s classical economics was all about value, price and rent theory, defining rent as the excess of prices above the socially necessary costs of production. The idea was to minimize rent, not maximize it.
    This classical approach to economics has been all but censored from the academic curriculum. The status quo has become so unfair that populations would demand change if economists and their national income accounting format revealed the extent to which wealth is gained in parasitic, predatory ways. What typically is celebrated as wealth today, as billionaires become public celebrities, is actually a form of economic overhead, not part of the production process. It is a cost that classical economics sought to eliminate, or at least minimize. But the study of economics is not what it used to be. The role of today’s mainstream economics is to prevent any change in taxes, anti-monopoly regulation or de-privatization that might threaten rentier wealth. To achieve this anti-classical counter-revolution, the discipline of economics has been turned into an unrealistic and tunnel-visioned caricature of reality."
    Michael Hudson. The Destiny of Civilization (Kindle Locations 736-747).
    "Rentiers derive income from ownership, possession or control of assets that are scarce or artificially made scarce. Most familiar is rental income from land, property, mineral exploitation or financial investments, but other sources have grown too. They include the income lenders gain from debt interest; income from ownership of ‘intellectual property’ (such as patents, copyright, brands and trademarks); capital gains on investments; ‘above normal’ company profits (when a firm has a dominant market position that allows it to charge high prices or dictate terms); income from government subsidies; and income of financial and other intermediaries derived from third-party transactions."
    Standing, Guy. The Corruption of Capitalism: Why rentiers thrive and work does not pay (p. 94).

  • @CatherineGrimshaw-bt6ks
    @CatherineGrimshaw-bt6ks 8 днів тому +1

    Didn’t she end up on welfare?

  • @batman4329
    @batman4329 9 днів тому

    Something about this lady seems off to me.

  • @kenswain3400
    @kenswain3400 9 днів тому +4

    "Ayn Rand: Bad Writer, Worse Philosopher" ...Michael Schur

  • @shea086
    @shea086 9 днів тому

    Where was this historian indoctrlnated?Let me guess!! That's my objective reaction.

  • @cuts240
    @cuts240 7 днів тому

    How did she have so many lovers -- allegedly

  • @curtishaptonstall7810
    @curtishaptonstall7810 9 днів тому +42

    I've read her books and easily the most overrated philosopher of all time. Good romance author and leave it at that. Greenspan the followed her and he led the country into its down fall. Milton Friedman , same thing. 2008 bail out of Wall street was inspired by her philosophy.

    • @jeromykinkade80
      @jeromykinkade80 9 днів тому

      2008 bailout was not based on her philosophy what the fuck are you talking about

    • @anthonyostrander9456
      @anthonyostrander9456 9 днів тому +26

      Is what way could bank bail outs possibly be inspired by Ayn Rand😂

    • @jeffreyscott4997
      @jeffreyscott4997 9 днів тому +7

      Yes, Owen Boyle was the hero of Atlas Shrugged, on that logic.
      What did Galt say when offered to run the country's economy? "Give all my friends money!"???

    • @bernadettedietz9404
      @bernadettedietz9404 9 днів тому +2

      Yes. We can see what the Milton Friedman version of capitalism did to Chili under Pinochet.

    • @jeffreyscott4997
      @jeffreyscott4997 9 днів тому +2

      @bernadettedietz9404 His ideas are not her ideas, did you not listen to the video?

  • @mtbtrailrider6653
    @mtbtrailrider6653 8 днів тому +1

    this sounds wonderful. this women that was confused and on a power trip at the same time, she failed at human dynamics, mad eup her own rules for human society too function all based on a fictional world she created in a book, which of course drew a bunch of NPC followers because lots of humans cant walk a road alone. she sounds a mess and started this detached theory of altruism and this is what the power players and elitists seem to follow.no wonder our world is so screwed up. cant people just analyze the situation and go from there, no they have too try and push all of humanity into this box that they all think is just right for human kind rather then realizing there is no box an entire landscape is needed for all of humanity because we are all very complex creatures and wont all fit into one sized box that they think should work because thats just what they want.

  • @paulvcarter
    @paulvcarter 9 днів тому +1

    She died on social security 😊

  • @sheephillkennel2004
    @sheephillkennel2004 10 днів тому +2

    ayn rands blunt contempt for palestinian culture is remarkable

    • @isaac.anthony
      @isaac.anthony 9 днів тому

      She's an exemplary Zionist. They love her, she lets them think it's OK to get rich of death, destruction and genocide as long as you can claim you're the victim.

  • @msdm83
    @msdm83 10 днів тому +4

    It's basically a romance novel. It's propaganda but her philosophical work isn't much more sophisticated.

  • @bobcabot
    @bobcabot 9 днів тому +1

    ja that old desperate narcissistic all too human attempt to turn the devil into something good...

  • @jeromykinkade80
    @jeromykinkade80 9 днів тому +1

    The Fountian Head was better than Atlas Shrugged

  • @niiflinstone23
    @niiflinstone23 9 днів тому +1

    Definitely the most overrated 20th century philosopher that Rand.

  • @jonathanthomas4722
    @jonathanthomas4722 9 днів тому +1

    Rothbard > Rand

  • @AbdulGhani-vm6oq
    @AbdulGhani-vm6oq 10 днів тому +3

    Aynd Rands philosophy is superficial claptrap compared to Harold Klemps.

  • @johnglennmercury7
    @johnglennmercury7 8 днів тому

    Rand wrote that privacy is inextricably linked to civilisation. How prophetic - look at the 2020s alone: the march towards her Anthem novel of collectivisation & zero privacy.