[MD] moq thought experiment 1

[Ham Priday]

[DMB]:

> Ayn Rand fans aren't to be taken seriously as thinkers.

Says who?  Philosophy department professors who are 85% self-proclaimed 
liberals?

Rand is considered one of the three founding mothers (along with Rose Wilder 
Lane and Isabel Paterson) of modern American libertarianism, although she 
rejected the Libertarian movement itself.  She was instrumental in 
establishing the Ludwig van Mises Institute as a world source of economic 
theory and the basis of the prestigious Chicago University School of 
Economics now associated with Milton Friedman, Alan Greenspan, and other 
distinguished 20th century economists.  Her statement that "Racism is the 
lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism" fueled the integration 
movement in the U.S.  Her philosophy of Objectivism has spread across the 
U.S., Australia, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Norway, 
and remains popular among student groups.

> She was also voted "worst novelist of all time".

The success of a novel is measured by its reader appeal, not reviewers' 
votes.  Rand's best-selling novel "The Fountainhead" was a worldwide 
success, selling six million copies at the rate of about 100,000 per year. 
It was made into an award-winning motion picture by Warner Brothers using 
the author's script.  Following its success, Rand wrote screenplays for two 
other movies, Love Letters and You Came Along.  "Atlas Shrugged", published 
in 1957, went on to become an international bestseller, and (according to 
Wikipedia) "...has been cited by many interviewees as the book that most 
influenced them".   (It certainly had that affect on me!)

> Would-be intellectuals would be wise to keep their admiration to 
> themselves
> or, better yet, re-think that fondness.

Is this an injunction from on high, David, or does it reflect your own 
anti-conservative views?

I'm not an objectivist, but I don't think an informed intellectual can 
seriously discount the influence Ayn Rand has had on philosophy, social 
polemics, and the arts.  Nor does a "true intellectual" have to be told what 
to read.

--Ham