This is John Galt:
This is his plaque:
Here's another:
This is a novel he set in Canada:
And this is his autobiography:
Enough of your fictitious fantasy man.
Definitional Disagreements
3 hours ago
17 August 2012
Answering the Tiresome Disciples of Ayn Rand
This is John Galt:
This is his plaque:
Here's another:
This is a novel he set in Canada:
And this is his autobiography:
Enough of your fictitious fantasy man.
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Thank you, that was great! The real John Galt is well worth reading, especially for those with interests in Scottish fiction and political fiction. Another cherishable writer from the bottomless 19th century.
ReplyDeleteI'm ashamed to say that I've not read more than a few poems by Galt, and yet I now live on land that was once owned by his Canada Company.
DeleteBut Ayn Rand is not worth reading unless you are a bored fourteen year old.
ReplyDeleteNice that we now have two candidates that take their ideologies from Scientology, Mormonism, Evangelical Christianity and Libertarianism. All groups that set themselves above the common man and have little concern or interest in him/her.
Uncanny. I read Anthem as a 14-year-old. I liked the cover. It only added to my boredom, but I soon discovered Roxy Music.
DeleteHow is it that Messrs Romney and Ryan are able to each hold so many conflicting practices, ideologies and philosophies? The only possible explanation is that they don't truly believe in any single one.
Gore Vidal had Ayn Rand pegged (Esquire July 1961):
"This odd little woman is attempting to give a moral sanction to greed and self interest, and to pull it off she must at times indulge in purest Orwellian newspeak of the 'freedom is slavery' sort."
I expect more newspeak this election.
Paul Ryan claims his favorite philosopher is Ayn Rand and his favorite band is Rage Against the Machine, thus proving he is either schizod or really, really stupid.
ReplyDeleteI hear you, Jeffrey. He presents himself as a Catholic while holding up a woman who, to paraphrase Gore Vidal, declared war on Christ. At the risk of appearing to repeat myself, I believe that Ryan's actual gods are money and self.
DeleteGoing back to that Gore Vidal piece (which is worth a read):
"Miss Rand now tells us that what we have thought was right is really wrong. The lesson should have read: One for one and none for all."
Brilliant!
ReplyDeleteHis 'The Member' and 'The Radical', which Canongate published together a few years ago, are a couple of very entertainingly cynical political comedies.
Thanks for the kind word, JRSM.
DeleteI suppose it is about time that I read some Galt. Now, if only there was a Whiskey Priest edition of Bogle Corbet.