Randroid

There is this fucktard who insists on calling me a "Randroid" as some kind of clever argument. What I find funny about it is the fact that Ayn Rand would have certainly booted me from her circle within a day.

Rand and I share a love for capitalism and the selfish pursuit of happiness. That is about it. Beyond that, we diverge widely. Here's a list of differences:

1. CAFFEINE vs. NICOTINE

Smoking is a bad habit. Yet, Rand glorified smoking as being almost sacred. I have to shake my head on that one. For her, genius burned brightly like the end of a lit cigarette. I beg to differ. For me, genius comes from a steaming cup of java. I think coffee has done way more for human achievement than tobacco ever did.

2. SPECIALIZATION vs. THE RENAISSANCE IDEAL

Rand believed that you should devote your life to one thing and pursue it even if you starve to death. And if you decide to take up a new pursuit later in life, you are an idiot. This comes through with her condemnation of Peter Keating to a kind of living hell as he realizes later on in life that he was an artist instead of an architect. His life was wasted and could never be redeemed. Poor fucker.

I don't believe in specialization. I used to believe in it, but I see it for the foolishness that it is. I believe in adaptability and trying new things. I believe in changing careers and having a wide range of interests. Rand did not. I find this strange considering her veneration of Aristotle. If her ideal is the fictional Howard Roark, my ideal is the real life Leonardo da Vinci.

3. WAR vs. PEACE

Rand would have supported the invasion of Iraq. I think it was a very bad mistake.

4. RATIONALISM vs. SKEPTICISM

Rand was essentially a rationalist and believed that knowledge came from rigorous adherence to observation and logical deduction. I can accept this but enlarge upon it to include peer review which Rand seemed to disdain. I am a skeptical empiricist and don't share the dogma that Rand possessed. I am willing to listen to opposing viewpoints even if I think they are shitheaded. Rand had no quarter for dissent.

5. RIGID EGOISM vs. BENIGN EGOISM

I consider myself a benign egoist. I will do things for other people as long as it doesn't hurt me. I can take pleasure in a charitable activity, and I think having a family is OK. I don't think Rand ever figured this out. Like Rand, I don't believe in sacrifice, but I don't think everything has to be justified as being purely for self-interest. I believe Aristotle's Mean has some bearing on this. I try not to be excessive nor deficient in my selfishness.

6. ADULTERY vs. MONOGAMY

Finally, Ayn Rand got her pussy wet for Nathaniel Branden and had to have the fucker despite being married. Then, she flew into a jealous rage when Branden starting banging some other tail. All of this was framed in her discussion of values and other bullshit as if turning her husband into a cuckold was a rational thing to do. I don't know who Rand was kidding, but she was a whore--pure and simple. She should have admitted that she wanted some strange cock in that snatch of hers.

Like I said, I wouldn't have made it in Rand's social circle. But she has influenced my thinking along with people like Friedman, Mises, Hayek, and Rothbard. But I am also influenced by Aristotle, Nietzsche, Nozick, and Camus. But if you think corporations aren't all bad, then you get called a "Randroid." I hope my critics will excuse me if I also put a label on them--FUCKTARD.

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