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Written by L. M. Lloyd
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Friday, 04 September 2009 08:52 |
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There has not been a single voice which has shaped the modern concept of Capitalism, more than Ayn Rand's. In fact, modern American Capitalism is so rooted in Rand's Objectivist philosophy, that few people realize how indivisible they are. For anyone not familliar with Objectivism, I suggest you read up on it a bit at either the Ayn Rand Institute, or on Wikipedia. At it's core though Objectivism is the belief that there is an indisputable objective reality, which can only be known through pure reason, and that objective reality dictates that there is no moral imperative other than individual self-interest, no higher calling that the pursuit of one's own happiness, no sin other than sacrificing for the sake of another, and no way to achieve one's own happiness but through laissez-faire capitalism. It is a belief that says the only legitimate role of government, is to protect the Haves, from having their possessions forcibly taken from them by the Have-Nots. It is a belief that says that faith, in anything but Objectivist ideals, has no place in a modern society. It is a belief that denounces concepts of equality, emotion, compassion and empathy as irrational anachronisms of a bygone era, which have no place in modern discussion. It is a belief that has no place for humor or humility, as Ayn Rand herself said that to laugh at yourself is to condemn yourself. It is also a belief held by most prominent capitalists and financial industry insiders, such as Alen Greenspan and his cronies, who were so close to Ayn Rand that they proofread her manuscripts for her. Now, I have spent a couple of decades pointing out the philosophical and logical flaws with Objectivism, and will probably continue for decades more, but for the purpose of this essay, I will try to contain myself to the political realities relevant to the current discussion on health care. I should say that many people, when they become aware of Objectivism, recoil for moral and ethical reasons. There is plenty to recoil from on those grounds, as Objectivism is about as morally advanced as Satanism (which in fact comes to the same conclusions as Objectivism), but that is not what bothers me. What bothers me, is that Objectivism, like most products of late 20th century America, is shockingly naive, myopic and profoundly ignorant of the real history of mankind. At issue is the fact that Objectivism comes from the all too common belief that if religion is not true, then everything religion teaches must be superstitious nonsense. Objectivism is not the only modern philosophy to go down this path, since it also figures heavily in Postmodernism, and most Subjectivist beliefs as well. However, that is fundamentally misunderstanding the role mythology serves, and makes the classic error of confusing the medium with the message. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 26 March 2010 10:42 )
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Written by L. M. Lloyd
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Wednesday, 26 August 2009 00:00 |
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One of the more depressing, yet interesting, things about our present consumer society, is that so much of it is completely counter-intuitive, and at times downright paradoxical. A good example of this, is people's concept of realism. Clearly a cornerstone of our modern materialist mindset, is that such soft and fanciful notions like ethics, self-respect, artistic inspiration and joie de vivre are outmoded, being replaced instead with the hard and realistic score-keeping of our net worth. The question however, is whether this itself isn't just another quaint romantic notion? I mean, you can't really call it realism, unless it reflects reality, and I have reason to doubt that this new cynical materialism reflects reality in any way. See, I meet people every day who have long ago given up on whatever dream it was that drove them, and instead settled into a job for which they have no great love, simply because it provided a "good paycheck." These people always have a lot to say about the importance of "growing up, getting real, and facing the facts." They will tend to tell you, in a carefully cultivated jaded voice, that if you don't think money can buy happiness, then you obviously haven't made enough. They also tend to spend most of their time away from work blind drunk, in loveless relationships, and constantly worrying about whether they are properly keeping up appearances. There lives seem to be an endless trudge of acquisition, usually of items and experiences which bore them before they have even had a chance to appreciate them, or for that matter pay them off. It is as though they perpetually think that if they just buy one more thing, or go to one more bar, or pick up one more girl, they will finally be satisfied, yet they never are, so try one more time. I literally can't count the number of times I have heard someone already talking about what they want from their next car, computer, TV, stereo, girlfriend, you name it, before they have even had their new one a week. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 27 August 2009 02:56 )
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Written by L. M. Lloyd
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Friday, 10 April 2009 17:24 |
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America is undergoing phenomenal social realignments right now, or at least should be. For a good 20 years now, Americans have had the core belief that if someone is financially successful, then they must be very smart, or very talented. Typically, this has been expressed with the well-worn phrase "he must be doing something right, look how much money he has." This is a belief which has been shaken to its very core by the recent financial collapse. The American people now see that in fact you can get very rich doing absolutely everything wrong, and that the richest people, seem to be the most idiotic and slow to adapt people on the planet. Whether it is paying bonuses to the very people who ran your company into the ground, or car makers taking private jets to travel a couple hundred miles, the average American shakes his head and wonders how these people can be so clueless and stupid? The awful truth is that to be one of those financially successful people everyone has been in awe of for the past couple decades, all you really need is an overriding greed, which puts money before absolutely everything else. You don't have to be smart, you don't have to be talented, and you don't have to work particularly hard. All you have had to do to get rich is check any self-respect, morals, ethics, or aspirations at the door, and chase the money. We have had a system for a good long time now which discouraged anything but pure greed. As long as you were willing to go where the money was, and do absolutely anything to get your hands on some of that money, it has been very easy to get your slice of the pie. Any of you who thought otherwise, have been fooled. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 16 April 2009 03:22 )
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Written by L. M. Lloyd
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Sunday, 22 March 2009 03:07 |
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I was just going through my site, actually putting metadata on my articles (something I should have done long ago, and something I should do when I write the article), and it struck me how much my life has changed in the past couple years. It is really quite amazing, and quite wonderful. I have always been an anime fan, and my whole life, Tokyo has been this distant dream. A place I would really like to go one day. Now, as the result of an odd twist of fate, I have been to Tokyo twice, and am planning my third trip as we speak. In fact, from now on I will probably be making at least one trip to Japan a year, and could see myself spending the rest of my life bouncing back and forth between LA and Tokyo. None of it because of any positive action on my part, but just a fluke of how things happened to go.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 22 March 2009 04:50 )
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Written by L. M. Lloyd
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Thursday, 19 March 2009 16:39 |
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A while ago I wrote an article about the problems with the modern popular idea of Global Warming. In it, I commented that I am an incredibly green person, which brought up a lot of questions from people. If I don't believe that carbon emissions are killing the planet, then why do I ride a bike everywhere instead of driving a car, and why am I so in favor of alternate energy? The short answer is because, regardless of what you think about Global Warming, being green makes sense. It is the 21st century, and I find the idea that I need to burn liquefied dinosaur carcasses to go get some groceries kind of bizarre, and more than a little bit barbaric. It is like some weird episode of the Flintstones, or some primitive tribal custom. If you wish to cross to the valley my son, you must first pay tribute at the hut of carcasses. There they will fill your steed's pack with the magical distilled essence of the creatures who walked the earth before our ancestor's time. Then, for every step your steed takes, you must burn a small portion of your magical elixir, or your steed might refuse to take another step. Take care though, for your steed can only carry so much essence juice, and if you go to far, or burn too much, you might have to find another hut of carcasses, and pay more tributes. As the elixir is gathered from afar, the tribute can be quite high, and as it has to travel from across the world, there is no way to know what any tribe might charge for their essence. It will require careful planning, and a dedication to honoring the spirits of the ancient beasts, for without this ritual, you will be forced to make the long journey on foot, or worse, contend with the evil tunnel snake who dwells beneath the mountain. Wise Shaman Exxon. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 March 2009 18:50 )
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Written by L. M. Lloyd
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Wednesday, 04 March 2009 03:38 |
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I recently got an email from a friend of mine that had some tips for ways to build your personal brand, and once I got the taste of vomit out of my mouth, I decided to write this little article. Sometimes I like to forget that this nation has become nothing but a bunch of used car salesmen, stuck on an endless loop of some psychotic extended remix of Glengarry Glen Ross, but then something like this will snap me back to reality. You see, for you to Always Be Selling, you have to be a certain kind of person. The kind of person who is always looking for the business advantage of every situation, and always keeps in mind the best way to monetize even the most private of interactions. Now, before those people were called Bloggers, they had another name, and that was whores. Yes, I know my wacky post-punk outlook is quaint, anachronistic and oh so 20th century, but I suppose it is one of the luxuries of being one of the ten people left in America who derives their self worth from something other than how many decimal places are in their bank account. Nonetheless, I think I need to get something straight here. A brand is something a company develops for their products, to create an emotional connection with people. When a person is attempting to create an emotional connection with people, they are supposed to use this thing called a personality! Now for the Bloggers out there who are confused by what this "personality" thing I speak of might possibly be, it is kind of like a personal brand, except instead of soullessly pandering to an imagined audience, trying to give them what you think will make them like you, you instead do and say what you want, in an attempt to like yourself. Think of it as ego, except based on who you intrinsically are, rather than how popular, or wealthy you might be. It doesn't pay as well, but you get the satisfaction of actually having some intellectual and artistic ground to call your own. |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 14 March 2009 07:18 )
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