"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Today's Must Read

This is a stunning indictment of Wall Street the Reagan legacy of "greed is good," and the soulless idiots who think Ayn Rand is god.

The summary header says it all:

The investment bank's cult of self-interest is on trial against the whole idea of civilisation – the collective decision by all of us not to screw each other over even if we can.

And why is it, do you suppose, that our "moral guardians" are silent on Goldman Sachs and its cronies?

1 comment:

Hunter said...

I've read Ayn Rand. The difference between me and someone like Megan McArdle or Ron Paul is that I grew out of it.

The problem with falling back on the "Ayn Rand is misinterpreted" argument is that it doesn't matter any more what she actually said. As the article notes, half the people who are subscribing to what's presented as her philosophy don't even know who she was. What matters is the soulless, amoral world view being presented under the guise of Randism. Total self-interest is her legacy, which
I'm sure suits the plutocrats just fine, but that's not what a society is about. That's a perversion of the whole idea of sociality.