MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE...

I was about to say that I’m eager to hear Paul Ryan explain exactly why it is that Ayn Rand appeals to him so much that he makes at least one of her books required reading for members of his staff... but I’ve changed my mind.  Taking my cues from Ayn Rand herself, I can figure out what his responses would be in any situation, and it scares me.  Excuse me, Representative Ryan, for a response based on my feelings, wishes, hopes and fears... for my country and for me.

   Surely Ryan has read Rand’s philosophy which was published in the Times-Mirror in 1962.  Here’s what she said that her philosophy, Objectivism, is and why it is the only important guide to life... VERBATUM copy:

1. “Reality exists as an objective absolute--facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.”

2. “Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses) is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.”

3.  “Man--every man--is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others.  He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself.  The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.”

4. “The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism.  It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others.  The government acts only as a policeman that protects man’s rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders.  In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.”

Apparently, Paul Ryan believes he can perceive the world in absolute black and white with no shades of gray or hidden meanings or intentions to give him pause.  Apparently Ryan believes feelings, wishes, hopes or fears are not relevant to developing a correct response to a situation if we know what the facts are. Of course, I get it that facts are facts... but what I don’t get is Ryan’s (or Rand’s) insistence that there can be only one correct response to any situation if we know the facts. For example, if he accepts his church’s dictum that abortion or even contraception is always a sinful, wrong response to unwanted pregnancy, that means abortion and contraception to prevent pregnancy are always, under all circumstances, wrong. 

It’s been a long day, and I don’t feel like rebutting each of Rand’s four statements about Objectivism.  I wouldn’t actually feel like doing it even if the day hadn’t already been long.  In an incredibly complex and confusing world, objectivism isn’t a philosophy that will guide me to a good end... even for myself... to say nothing of those people for whom I care... whom I love.