lol– isn't this literally the plot of #AynRand's #Fountainhead?
The pseudo-intellectuals among the #MAGA types purport to be Ayn Rand acolytes. Her individualist diatribes against socialism as the highest ideal, used architecture as a vehicle. She preached that "classic" design for everything was the path of stagnant dullards, unlike her protagonist.
Meanwhile maga pushes exactly that – everyone has to wear the same hat and conform to the leader's ideology. Who's the collectivist now?
Wie tickt Big-Tech?
In der ARD Audiothek gibt es eine Reihe Podcasts, die gut recherchiert und tiefgründig erklären, warum und mit welchen Zielen die Tech-Oligarchen gerade tun, was sie tun.
@PerryM #Trump #Talibangelicals don’t worship #JesusChrist. The “Sermon on the Mount” is way too #woke.
The #MAGA cult worships an amalgamation of #Jesus Christ and #AynRand creation Adam Galt; ‘#JesusGalt.’ https://www.kurtkeefner.com/post/john-galt-alternative-christ
Silicon Valley - Das Weltbild der Tech-Milliardäre
Mit Donald Trump und Vizepräsident JD Vance haben Tech-Milliardäre wie Elon Musk oder Peter Thiel einen direkten Draht ins Weiße Haus.#SiliconValley #JDVance #PeterThiel #MarcAndreessen #CurtisYarvins #AynRand #ElonMusk
Dystopien und anti-woke: das gefährliche Weltbild der US-Tech-Elite
@relentless_eduardo If you want a single book, go with “The #AynRand Reader”: https://aynrand.org/novels/the-ayn-rand-reader/ It contains a selection of both her fiction and non-fiction.
If you’re a student, you can also get a free #ebook of one of her other #books: https://aynrand.org/free
Hi everyone, I’m Mark, and this is my #introduction!
I’m a #SoftwareEngineer who codes mostly in #Perl, enjoys discussing #AynRand’s #philosophy of #Objectivism, and shares thoughts on #ballroom #dance, #cosplay, and playing #music on #BassGuitar.
I attend #DragonCon in #Atlanta, as well as #DeltaHCon and #Comicpalooza right here in #Houston.
You may know me from my previous #fediverse / #Mastodon accounts. Sorry about all the jumping around.
@verge "But I think before we go about trying to change the nation or change the nation state, we should probably discuss that idea with the American people. So, in a nutshell, you have a group of super-rich elites with a very apocalyptic vision of where society and the world are headed, and they are rushing ahead with what they think is the solution, a solution that, by the way, will also put a crown on their heads."
https://mstdn.social/@verge@mastodon.social/114891620993217326
Ayn Rand's novella 'Anthem', published in 1938, presents a dystopian future where individuality is suppressed, and the concept of self is almost extinct. the protagonist embarks on a journey to find his own identity, but the society in which he exists prioritises collective identity over all personal freedoms. this struggle for self-awareness is the novella's central theme...
#literature #aynrand #identity #society #individuality #SelfRealisation #philosophy #opinions
https://write.as/for-much-deliberation/an-overview-of-the-book-anthem-by-ayn-rand
I have to admit that the discussion of "the alt-right" in the present tense here made me skeptical at first. Apart from that, though, this is an interesting interview and looks like a worthwhile book.
Re: 'Speculative Whiteness: Science Fiction and the Alt-Right' by Jordan S. Carroll (2024)
===
Q: As you explain in the intro, science fiction can serve as a “blueprint, warning, forecast, wish-dream, and counterfactual” (8). How does the alt-right, as part of its interpretive project, reconceptualize the purpose of science fiction? Can it be self-critical?
A: The alt-right often sees science fiction as a prefiguration of the destiny that white men must realize. They have a very crude view of culture: it either moralizes or demoralizes white people. They’re therefore only interested in science fiction insofar as it either inspires them to greatness or stands in the way of their greatness. For all their sophistry, it’s a very crude way of thinking, one that precludes any kind of critical self-reflection or openness to the kinds of thought experiments that science fiction so often affords.
Q: How is fascism connected with historical science fiction fandom?
A: We tend to think of fascists as outside agitators who are not real fans, but they have been here since the earliest days of fandom. The first major Neo-Nazi leader in the US was James H. Madole (1927-1979), who got his start in the science fiction community. In his writings describing the National Renaissance Party’s philosophy, he often drew upon science fiction images of a scientifically advanced cognitive elite who would rule the world and ultimately transcend their humanity to become “homo superior.” Instead of thinking of science fiction as inherently progressive, we need to think of it as an ongoing struggle between competing ideological tendencies. The left seems to be winning this war within literary science fiction, at least, but it was a hard-fought battle carried out over many decades.
Pourquoi Ayn Rand attaque-t-elle Dewey et Marcuse ? Retour sur une polémique autour de la « haine de la raison »
Ayn Rand accuse Dewey et Marcuse de « haïr la raison » ! Pourquoi une telle hostilité ? Analyse d’une querelle philosophique où la critique radicale de Rand en dit plus sur sa propre philosophie que sur celle de ses adversaires. #AynRand #Dewey #Marcuse #raison 1. Le contexte philosophique d’Ayn Rand Ayn Rand (1905-1982), philosophe et romancière américaine,…
Also I decided I should start posting my occasional Mastodon rants to my weblog, because I never post anything to that poor unloved thing.
https://superhighwayman.com/2025/money-for-sources-but-the-spin-comes-free/
A few thoughts that relate to the above poem (tanka).
The late Erik Naggum was a controversial figure as a user of programming language Common Lisp and markup language SGML because he was often unreasonably and mercilessly unkind to people he regarded as stupid or people (often newbies) who were unwilling to educate themselves from resources he felt would rescue them from ignorance. I won't make apologies for that. It was beyond rude.
Nonetheless, he was brilliant thinker and I am not one to ignore useful thought because of its source. That is itself a controversial position but it's one I strongly hold to. To do otherwise puts important thought at risk by manufacturing truths or even discovering legit truth about any author. If you were told Homer or Shakespeare or Thomas Jefferson or Maya Angelou or Mark Twain or MLK or AOC or Bernie Sanders was morally flawed, are you then obliged to disclaim or remove their writing. Society would be forever hostage to reputation peddlers. I maintain that the goodness of writing must be judged by the words of the writing, not the author. It's an uncomfortable but necessary truth, as I see it.
Indeed, to read even the thoughts of Hitler or Ayn Rand, neither of whom I thonk well of, can be important. To understand the world and its history, it matters to hear all kinds of people [1].
As I undertand it, Naggum was originally an objectivist. That's how he seemed to present himself to me, as an ex-objectivist. At one time a fan of Ayn Rand and her philosophies. But at some point he had a falling out and came to be a very lucid critic [2], with the sharpness and clarity of one disillusioned by deep and contemplative thought.
His writing is blunt and sometimes intolerant but makes strong points. I found slogging past the unncomfortably phrased parts useful. There's a lot of interesting stuff there.
But one thing he, a Norwegian, once said to me was that he felt the really unique and valuable thing about the American capitalist system was its degree of forgiveness. Elsewhere, he said, if you make a mistake and, you are done, sacked with debt you cannot return from, and given no second chance. The American system of bankruptcy means people can recover and learn from mistakes.
Plainly some do not learn, as one of our co-presidents shows clearly. And you can still do horrible harm that you should not be forgiven for, a problem the other co-president is poster boy for. But there is a place for forgiveness and just tolerance.
Yet instead, having gotten into the treehouse, the co-presidents are not seeking to bring others along, just to pull up the ladder so that no one else can get in, at least not without paying dearly.
Naggum also speaks (and this much is in the referenced essay [2]) of the need to accomodate change and diversity and unfortunate circumstances, which he seems to assert is part of the fabric of society that bring intolerant people to sufficient success that they can start to build a society that espouses no need for such.
These things which are in stark contrast with the writings of Yarvin (the apparent philosophical leader of Vance and the Project 2025 crowd), who seems scarily comfortable with death and suffering [3] [4].
[1] https://netsettlement.blogspot.com/2009/05/freedom-to-hear.html
[2] https://www.nhplace.com/kent/Writing/OS/Naggum-on-Atlas-Shrugged.html (yes, it has some broken links but the important part is the long embedded quote from email he sent me)
[3] https://www.thenerdreich.com/curtis-yarvin-fears-his-authoritarian-fantasy-is-flopping/
[4] https://netsettlement.blogspot.com/2024/10/vance-notice.html
@tg9541 They get it from the “Atlas Shrugged” novels written by #Russian emigrée #AynRand (where the ‘hero’ is a character named John Galt). Her hyper-rationalist #Objectivism philosophy (#empathy is a sin) was perversely melded into the ethos of so-called fundamentalist #Christians already worshipping #prosperity in the #UnitedStates.
I saw an excellent essay on this #American phenomenon entitled “Who is #Jesus Galt?” that has since been ‘disappeared’. 
Indem man vom Sein (= alle Menschen besitzen einen Selbsterhaltungstrieb) auf das Sollen (= alle Menschen sollen ihren Selbsterhaltungstrieb ausleben) schließt, begeht man einen Fehlschluss im Sinne von Humes Gesetz.
#Musk tendiert zunehmend zu einer egoistischen & antihumanistischen Weltanschauung im Sinne der #Objektivismus -Philosophie #AynRand ’s.
Zu deutsch: er scheisst auf #humanismus #demokratie #rechtsstaatlichkeit
Astute takedown of the Silicon Valley villains in their own language. [The Bulwark, Substack]: Elon Musk Thinks He’s an Ayn Rand Hero. Nope: He’s One of Her Villains.
Recent years have revealed the Silicon Valley venture capitalists and tech entrepreneurs who worship Rand to be racists, fraudsters, and looters. By Paul Crider, March 10, 2025
