The Influence of Ayn Rand (and why I’m not a fan)
The WAPO has an article today about how a large portion of the cabinet in waiting as well as many conservative politicians are big fans of Ayn Rand. In the included satirical video by John Oliver, however, it shows a tycoon on the other side (Mark Cuban) who is also a devotee of Ms. Rand and who consistently returns to her works for inspiration.
Personally I have read most of Rand’s books in high school and found them stimulating at the time. But the core of her message, and oft repeated in her works in various forms, is that “man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress.” Though a fierce atheist and pro-choice advocate herself, Rand’s core “philosophy” of “objectivism” is nonetheless embraced by many who are repelled by her personal proclivities. Sound familiar? Morality is somehow grafted onto and conflated with “the virtue of selfishness,” which is also the title of a Rand book.
So we have to ask, what is this ego that is supposed to define us? We say if someone has a big ego, that’s not good, but if we take our cue from Ayn Rand, we must think that our own ego must be well developed in order to be a complete, creative, and contributing member of society.
This begs the question, then, without a strong egoic sense of self, what are we left with? It’s almost as though without that strong ego, we are barely equipped to function as a human, and must be condemned to be a supplicant of those who are the true “creators.” (Generally translated as “wealth producers.”)
Based on my own personal experience, I don’t agree with that. I most passionately propose that my truest self and source of fulfillment is not with my ego at all, in any way, but in a being that I am still trying to get to know. That being is within me, and is in fact me, and it does not feel like my ego. Its qualities are love, peace, compassion and empathy with others. It is also is wise, and creative, but that is only apparent when the ego is quiet.
My egoic self is competitive, wants to “win” at the expense of someone who must lose. It thinks it is quite smarter than most, but generally screws up things again and again. Wants to be right. Wants what it wants. Do I want to put energy into feeding that side of me?
Do any of you feel that the real cause of this global freak show of unsolvable problems and irreconcilable differences can be somehow boiled down to the way each of us, as individuals, seek our fulfillment?
