Art28

Ayn Rand and the birth of Objectivism

 

Sometimes I think am hearing the same kind of thinking behind some 'idividualistic permaculture' that is pushed by Objectivism, only without Ayn Rand's sharp wit, courage or well-thought-out wider philosophical context:

 

basically the belief that in simply fending for oneself (and teaching others to do so: becoming more self-sufficient) and a kind of enlightened egoism are the best way to achieve a just and harmonious society for everyone (¿or that it ceases to matter whether we do or not we achieve it? sometimes people aren't quite clear on this point..)

 

So I suspect Ayn Rand fits in somewhere in permaculture thinking or history ... at least in that it would be useful to know about this trend of thought and more consciously decide where it is and is not in line with permaculture Ethics.

 

I actually disagree with most of her premises (and conclusions), but admire much of her attitude and one place where I do think her memes might come in very handy are in her disdain for sloppy thinking ..

 

There are only two means by which men can deal with one another: guns or logic. Force or persuasion. Those who know that they cannot win by means of logic, have always resorted to guns.

 

Really her mastery of logic can only really be apreciated in her longer discourses or articles... but here are some quotes:

 

 

• My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

 

• "Contradictions do not exist". "Whenever you think that you are facing a contradiction, check your premises". "You will find that one of them is wrong".

 

Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.

 

Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received--hatred. The great creators--the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors--stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The first airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.

 

• I can accept anything, except what seems to be the easiest for most people: the half-way, the almost, the just-about, the in-between.

• Anything may be betrayed, anyone may be forgiven. But not those who lack the courage of their own greatness.
• And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: 'I.'
• There is nothing to take a man's freedom away from him, save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.
• There is no such thing as duty. If you know that a thing is right, you want to do it. If you don't want to do it—it isn't right. If it's right and you don't want to do it—you don't know what right is and you're not a man.

 

more on   http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand

 

 

 

 

 

 

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