Question about Rand's position

[margotb822]

If even private businesses are licensed to operate by the government, then doesn't the government have the right (and responsibility) to regulate how a business operates?

If he doesn't support anti-discrimination laws, then does he believe that minors are being discriminated against because they aren't allowed to buy cigarettes or alcohol? If there are no limits on free speech, does he support child pornography?

[WeDidIt]

1. That's the entire point of (Ayn) Randian Libertarian philosophy

This philosophy rejects any notion that the government has any right to regulate any business. Their claim is that the magic hand of the free market will correct any wrongdoing by business.

Which we all know from history is a complete load of shit, but you cannot tell that to idiots who follow this sick evil philosophy.

Ayn Rand Libertarianism is more evil than Soviet Communism ever was.

[el_bryanto]

3. That last sentence is debatable

For one thing, Ayn Rand Libertarianism has never had the power that Soviet Communism has; so it's hard to compare the two. And it's unlikely it ever will.

And when you look at the body counts, Stalinism killed a hell of a lot of people. So did Mao.

Bryant

[WeDidIt]

5. Objectivism has killed more than Mao and Stalin combined

Ayn Rand;s philosophy lead directly to the Great Depression.

Ayn Rand's philosophy has lead to unscrupulous weapons manufacturers supplying the instruments of death to both sides in most conflicts since Rand originally founded the Objectivism movement.

More people have died on the altar of unfettered capitalism than Stalin and Mao killed combined.

[el_bryanto]

9. I suspect I'll be punished for pointing this out.

She didn't start writing seriously until the mid to late thirties and the fountainhead and atlas shrugged were printed in the 40s/50s.

I'm also not sure about that last statement; I guess it depends on how yhou count people who died under unfetterd capitalism.

Bryant

[WeDidIt]

10. Unfettereed capitalism existed prior to her writings.

She merely congealed what the robber barons practiced from the late 19th century to this day into her fantasy literature.

[TampaAnimus2010]

11. Actually, thats not entirely true...

What caused the great depression was the bursting of a bubble caused by the exact same thing that caused todays issues, over-stimulation of the economy via inflation. In out case the vast majority of the inflation was channeled into the housing industry via lower interest rates and easing of home loan restrictions resulting in overproduction in that sector.

Over the entire period of the 8 year boom previous to the great depression, we find that the money supply increased by $28.0 billion, a 61.8 percent increase over the eight-year period. This is an average annual increase of 7.7 percent, a very sizable degree of inflation. The major increases took place in 1922-1923, late 1924, late 1925, and late 1927. The abrupt leveling off occurred precisely when we would expect—in the first half of 1929, when bank deposits declined and the total money supply remained almost constant.

For a really entertaining video on the subject, check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

[izzybeans]

12. She's just the new excuse for the old aristocracy.

"Only I know what to do with my serfs!"

"Who is John Galt?" "The man stealing your wallet and calling it freedom."

The poor woman lived a tortured life because her pa lost his store during the Russian revolution. Her daddy issues are the source of her confusion between logic and reason on one hand and her irrational and sociopathic personality.

And now we have Randel Paul...

[trotsky]

2. No.

You need to understand this about libertopia, where every libertarian lives (at least in their mind): government has NO legitimate purpose other than police and military. And the police should only get involved when one person is using force to coerce or take from someone else. So murder and theft. MAYBE rape too.

In libertopia, the invisible hand will take care of everything marketplace-related. If a business owner decides not to serve minorities, well then, if they can't support their business without them, they'll fail. But if there are enough white racists around, they'll do fine and government has no reason whatsoever to get involved.

It's just that simple! :eyes:

[katsy]

4. randy is simply a racist and his cluttered little mind

can't process the consequences of his ideology.

To randy, "private" businesses should be exempt from the civil rights act and the ADA should be repealed. To hell with the consequences on children and everything else. As long as his world can be lily white and his eyes never see a disable human being... he's good.

[rainy]

6. He thinks Government shouldn't regulate anything so that should

mean that my life should not be regulated. I should be able to pitch a tent on the beach and sleep there. I should be able to own horses and pigs and chickens in my back yard, even though too small, how dare the government tell me what to do eh?
It goes both ways.
I should be able sleep on public benches. I should be able to wash my clothes in the rivers. The list could go on and on.
If businesses aren't regulated and they are people then people's lives should not be regulated.
I'm being facetious of course but it gives a new perspective to the conversation.

[margotb822]

8. I wonder how the tea party would feel

if we started a "Rand Paul supports puppy killing and heroin" campaign. After all, the regulation of those are government interference, right?

The thing that gets me is that these people don't actually support "government out of our lives," they just want it done in their own way.

[trotsky]

13. Not facetious at all.

In fact, that really is the most effective way to engage one of these simplistic libertarians. Just point out OBVIOUS examples where they'll admit that yes, government should have the power to <fill in the blank>. Before long they've justified nearly every single thing our government does today.

[Joanne98]

7. He's a free market extremist. He thinks they should be able to do anything they want.

And since our country is being wrecked by big corporations and a ruthless super-class I think that's a very dangerous idea in more ways than race.