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The Gop's Favorite Witch Analysis

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Ayn Rand, The GOP’s Favorite Witch By Joshua Heath One of the most popular intellectuals in the modern Republican party is the libertarian writer Ayn Rand. This immoral, decrepit woman advocated a philosophy, Objectivism, that argued the following: the sole purpose of life is to be selfish, no matter the cost to our friends, family, or the greater community. If an action pleases you it is moral; if it doesn't, it is immoral. Or as she put it in her 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged: “Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity...” This perspective has predictable implications for organizing our country, as Rand believed that the sole duty of government was to defend the people: supply an army, the police, and the courts. All safety net programs should be abolished for if selfishness is the whole point of life, then these initiatives, founded on compassion, were bad ideas. …show more content…

It is an un-American and evil worldview, which makes Rand’s influence on the Republican party all the more terrifying. House Speaker Paul Ryan has his interns read her work; GOP leaders from Ted Cruz to Ron Paul and Rush Limbaugh sing her praises; the Tea Party Movement, the dominant force among conservatives today, cites Rand as one of its most important philosophers. And her vision is deeply embedded in the policy proposals the GOP puts forward, which if enacted, would eviscerate the American safety net. Since Trump took office, Republicans have proposed laws that would rob 32 million people of health insurance, fund a border wall by drastically reducing poverty programs, and cut $1.8 trillion from Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare in order to pay for tax cuts for the

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Ayn Rand depicts characters that make important choices; her characters select from alternatives available to them — significant and sometimes life-and-death issues. Equality 7-2521 is the most obvious example, but not the only character in the book to make such choices. He chooses to wonder about the Unspeakable Word when he could (and, according to this society, should) decide not to. He chooses to conceal both the existence of the tunnel and his experiments, refusing to bow to the Councils ' will. He chooses not to tell his captors where he has been though they torture him.

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585 Words | 3 Pages

Why did Ayn Rand believe in Objectivism? Is relying on yourself for every situation a good thing? Ayn Rand grew up with lots of political influence in her home country Russia. Ayn Rand’s books were very controversial in the political side of things she went along with a lot of objectivism, which in simpler form means that you can only use rational self-interest to survive.

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1655 Words | 7 Pages

Annotated Bibliography In his article “Outlook for healthcare under a President Trump” Dr. Charles J. Lockwood describes the way he believes President Trump will take healthcare. He argues that the President’s new policies will cause many problems throughout society on many levels. President Trump has decided that many factors of healthcare and insurance can be eliminated. He says pre-existing medical conditions can now be denied by insurance companies.

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923 Words | 4 Pages

But what is objectivism? Ayn Rand described it as "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" (ARCE). In short, your happiness is your own goal, not the collective, follow your head and take your feelings, or your heart, out of decisions, and if you can, strive to improve or make something of society. Ayn Rand grew up in a collective communist society. As she grew she also grew to hate being a part of the collective which is why she developed her philosophy of objectivism.

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1278 Words | 6 Pages

In Ayn Rand's novella "Anthem," the story unfolds in a future society known as the "dark ages of the future. " In this world, individuality is buried in favor of collective identity. The characters are taught not to think for themselves and not to pursue their own thoughts, goals, and values. “We are nothing” – we are nothing.

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2031 Words | 9 Pages

In Ayn Rand’s novella “Anthem” the story which holds no plot but rather philosophical lessons takes place in a primitive authoritarian future world “dark ages of the future” where individuality has been suppressed in favor of collective identity, in the world of Anthem, the characters are taught to not think independently and not be pursue their own thoughts, their own goals, their own values, but rather be held by the power of collectivism “there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.” In the novella the villain, by contrast, do not hand, who allow themselves to be run by others, and are in a literal sense selfless. The theme of the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand is the power of individualism, selfhood, collectivism verse individualism,

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1223 Words | 5 Pages

“Individualism is the idea that the fundamental unit of the human species that thinks, lives, and acts toward goals is the individual. This means that the adult individual can form his own independent judgments, act on his own thoughts, and disagree with others” (Y). In this abstraction design, Rand has become a true creator. Throughout her life Rand has seen communism destroy her family’s life. It only made sense for her to create her own fabrication based on trauma (X).

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792 Words | 4 Pages

Moral Assessment of Anthem In Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, Equality lives in a communist society that believes everyone must work for and be exactly like one another. For much of the novel, he believes what the Council of Vocations tells him, despite his intelligence and independence. By the end of the book, he realizes that the idea that everyone is the same and must work for each other is flawed. He deserves to live his own life and enjoy himself.

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576 Words | 3 Pages

This earth of mine” ( Ayn 94). This quote demonstrates that having those elements affects the human mind and behavior, which creates morals. “The fortune of my spirit is not to be blown into coins of brass and flung to the winds as alms for the poor of the spirit” (Ayn95). This quote proves having morals can lead us to know the real value of our spirit. Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, shows that the human spirit is part of understanding.

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1062 Words | 5 Pages

Ayn Rand and all people who believe egoism is the only virtue are inhumane. The word humane means to show compassion which is an act of altruism, that Ayn Rand and all her followers are firmly against. Altruism is when the wellbeing of a group is more important than the rights and needs of an individual. Egoism is when an individual’s right and needs are more important than the wellbeing of a group. All humans should be more altruistic than egoistic, because altruism allows people to be compassionate and to serve those in need.

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1204 Words | 5 Pages

Ayn Rand presents an argument against individual rights in her essay, Man’s Rights. She believes that these rights do not actually exist outside of the right to life and the right to property; or less specifically, the right to action. Many critics see flaws in her argument however, finding flaws in her reasoning. Rand attempts to argue that egoism and rights entail each other.

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517 Words | 3 Pages

Annotated Bibliography Cohen, M. (2014, April 26). The American Dream is now just that for its middle classes – a dream. The Guardian, p. 00. “The American Dream is now just that for its middle classes – a dream” by Michael Cohen explains the perception of Americans towards the decline of the middle class. The article details how the middle class was viewed before the elections of President Obama, and how it’s viewed after the creation of the Affordable Care Act.

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709 Words | 3 Pages

Those who live among poverty and violence look to America and see a wonderful country filled with opportunity. However, in recent months, America has become a laughingstock, a joke. Donald Trump, as well as many conservative Republicans would like to would like to build a wall separating America from Mexico, limit a woman’s choices, and deny current citizens basic psychological and physical assistance. We should work towards building human connections, not walls. Our future president will have the power to implement an immigration policy and make decisions that will effect the immigrants who currently reside within our borders.

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583 Words | 3 Pages

Social Darwinism and the Social Gospel Movement are contrasting systems of belief. Social Darwinism suggests that people are in the social or financial state that they deserve. This appealed to the work ethic that anyone could do well if they worked hard enough. For some, this was a source of inspiration to work hard to excel.

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2231 Words | 9 Pages

Some conservatism recognise this and agree that there cannot always be a blue print for social arrangements. Negative bias is also seen as a potential strength of the conservatism. Negative bias is when the negative deems to hold more of an importance than the positive, the negative outweighs the bad. Within each political party, their aim should be to change society and by doing so the focus will need to be on the negative in order to make positive change, turning the negative to positives. Conservatives have been able to maintain itself as part of the government for a very long time, it is believed by Hirsh et all (2010) that the reasons for this is because of its readiness to adapt and change.

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