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Libertarians and Objectivists seem to be unable to develop concise, clear messages to illustrate the virtue in the philosophies. For example:
"Libertarians seeking to take over the world and leave you alone."
Just clearly explaining the virtue of selfishness in the long game (vs each separate decision) lacks clarity.
If the end game is to Gulch, let's work on that. If the end game is a more realistic and challenging "change people's minds", we have much room for improvement. If the plan is to gather and bitch (or pontificate), I should drop my membership.
I really don't care what Ayn's objective was. Mine is to reduce infringement on my own freedoms. One means to do this is to challenge people to think objectively, and overcome the barriers of cognitive dissonance. To accomplish this, one must grasp another's attention briefly.
You are a professor, teaching as a profession. I can't believe we are at odds on this subject.
And, the young lady in the video is incredible. LOL
Trump should have pressed for eliminating the federal prohibition and taxed it. Would have swayed a lot of middle people.
I think, honestly, the Libertarian party pushes drug legalization as its one of the few things that distinguish them from most Republicans. I do not care if people want to do drugs on their own time, although I think they should keep or increase the penalties for anyone found supplying drugs to minors. You'll never see drugs completely decriminalized, because there's too much profit motive in keeping them illegal. DEA and the Mafia and cartels are making too much money to allow that.
This is tangible and understandable, except to some idiots here that jumped all over me for “freedom = responsibility”. Maybe if I did the math for them: Freedom is only possible if people are responsible for the consequences of their own free choices. Thus, freedom must be accompanied by an equal measure of responsibility. Freedom / Responsibility = 1. Rearranging terms, freedom = responsibility.
This may precipitate thought, but it is a powerful thought experiment. Of course, since Ayn didn’t say it, it can’t penetrate some people’s heads.
Also happy to see Prager advertise for Ayn. They do a good job on production. Some of the other Objectivist materials are too dry for mainstream audience.
...but you beat me to it...good job!
A key problem is people abandoning religion due to its obvious flaws falling prey to altruism, rather than a more well-founded philosophy. Letting semi religious people see that their values need not be variously dictated; that they can be derived naturally, is an excellent approach.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/16fe...
Exposing some of the Prager community to this discussion has value. There are likely others for whom religion is losing hold that would happily latch on to logically-grounded basis for their previous "beliefs".
" The most important resource for understanding Objectivism is your own reasoning mind.
In a certain respect, this point is too obvious to warrant mentioning. In another respect, it can’t be emphasized enough. So I’ll say a few words about it upfront.
Objectivism is often misrepresented by those who fear its actual nature. One of the most widespread and destructive misrepresentations of the philosophy is the claim that it is a set of dogmas issued by Ayn Rand that you must accept and follow in order to be a “good Objectivist.” In other words, this assertion goes, the absolutism of Objectivism is like the dogmatism of religion: doctrinaire, authoritarian, confining.
But it is not. And understanding the difference is essential to understanding Objectivism.
Objectivism is indeed a philosophy of absolutes. It’s a system of black-and-white principles. It is also utterly non-dogmatic and profoundly liberating. And its reality-based, life-serving nature lies in the integration of these facts.
Objectivism identifies absolutes about the nature of reality, man’s means of knowledge, the requirements of human life, the source and nature of rights, the moral purpose of government. Its principles are black and white because reality is black and white: Things are what they are; they’re not what they’re not. An idea is either supported by evidence and logic, or it is not. An action either advances human life, or it does not. A law or policy either initiates physical force and thus violates individual rights, or it does not. And so on.
Objectivism recognizes and upholds such absolutes, but it does not call for you to accept them on faith or because some authority said so. Rather, Objectivism calls for you to look at reality for yourself, to use your own mind, and to draw first-hand conclusions on the basis of your own observations and logic. If an idea doesn’t make sense to you, if you don’t see how it is supported by facts, then, according to Objectivism, you should not accept it as true. And this applies emphatically to the principles of Objectivism.
This is the Objectivist principle of independence. And it too is an absolute: If you want to understand some aspect of reality, you must perceive the world with your own senses and integrate your observations with your own reasoning mind. Of course, you can learn from other people by listening to what they say, considering their arguments, observing their actions, and relating what they say or do to what you know. But the fact remains that in order genuinely to understand an idea, theory, or subject, you must rely ultimately on your own observations and logic. You must establish and maintain a primary orientation toward the facts as you see them, not toward the views or opinions of other people.
Because of this absolutism, Objectivism is profoundly liberating. It does not issue commandments or “categorical imperatives” from on high for you to obey. Rather, the philosophy identifies observation-based principles of the if-then variety—such as: If you want to understand reality, then you must observe reality and think. If you want to live and flourish, then you must think and act accordingly. If you want to live in a social system that enables human flourishing, then you must specify the nature of such a system and work to establish and maintain it.
Such principles are not dogmas. They are recognitions of the law of cause and effect. And they do not confine or constrict you. They free you.
Specifically, they free you from the subjectivist nonsense that “reality is whatever the social consensus says it is”—and from the religious nonsense that “reality is whatever the divine consciousness wills it to be.” Reality, Objectivism acknowledges, exists independently of any consensus or consciousness. The function of the mind is not to create reality, but to comprehend it.
And the mind is an attribute of the individual.
Applied to the aim at hand, this particular absolute means that if you want to understand Objectivism, you must activate your mind and consider the philosophy as it actually is—not as those who fear the philosophy falsely portray it to be.
If you approach Objectivism with a commitment to seeing for yourself what it actually says and means, then whatever your assessment—whether positive, negative, or mixed—it will be your assessment. And that, of course, is what matters . . ."
For example, "because of this absolutism" is much more likely to precipitate cynicism than curiosity.
However, noting Objectivism is based on observation with one's own senses and the fundamentals of cause and effect, is more likely to cause interest.
I seek these nuggets to open people's minds. One open mind precipitates others... and a chain reaction. Prager is good at this, even with a poorer footing.
The enemy, Satan himself_, altruism (individual and institutional (socialism)) has developed prevalent viruses preying on natural tendencies, and is very good at this, even though their message is false and unfair. People here are smart. We should be able to prepare more compelling messages and understanding.
_ for illustration only; I am an atheist.
But good thinking.