Like most kids, I had my Randian phase. But I grew out of it before moving to Sili Valley.

I've always been a bit of a fan of Adam Curtis' documentary style, and "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" (named after the Brautigan poem) is worth watching. I'm not sure how much of his narrative of Rand is accurate, but it's well presented:

https://youtu.be/I6EBpLfLHCA?si=SE93Dp9nsl11vnU3

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capyba 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

Hearing someone proudly describe themselves as a libertarian always reminds me of the ol’ twitter quote that goes something like “libertarians are like house cats - fiercely self-assured of their own independence, yet completely reliant on a system they don’t appreciate or understand.”

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dennis_jeeves2 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Rand broadly attracts 2 types of people:

- The rebellious teenager. The often 'outgrow' it.

- The self made man (who in a certain way also rebels against society). These are generally the entrepreneurial types. Their understand the essence of views put forth by AR. Their views do not change over time.

Most people fall into the first category.

	▲	viccis 2 days ago \| parent [-]
		>understand the essence of views put forth by AR I've talked to quite a few objectivists (at one point I lived near Austin, which has one of the only, maybe THE only university in the world that treats objectivism as a serious subject of study) and not a single one of them had read a page of her actual writing on metaphysics and epistemology. So for example, they generally can't articulate an answer as to how her ethics of self interest differ from simple hedonism. They all liked her fiction because they, almost all being bright people on the spectrum, derive all their self worth from their intelligence rather than from their interactions with others. So a novel presenting such characters as moral champions under attack from leeching inferiors naturally appeals to someone with an ego driven worldview. The author of the linked post never really addressed whether he thought about reconsidering his views on Randian self interest as a virtue, which is a perfect way to philosophically ground the kind of exploitative and useless effects of crypto that he described.

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tokai 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Most kids don't have a Rand phase. It is a good indicator for low empathy selfish idiots tho.