Gore Vidal on Why Ayn Rand Sucks and Literary Criticism - Esquire »
Posted By Radiofreeeuropa 5 months, 2 weeks ago in Political NewsGore Vidal may not like New York Times' critic Orville Prescott, but he dislikes Ayn Rand's "philosophy" even more. "This odd little woman is attempting to give a moral sanction to greed and self interest, and to pull it off she must at times indulge in purest Orwellian newspeak of the “freedom is slavery” sort. What interests me most about her is not the absurdity of her “philosophy,” but the size of her audience (in my campaign for the House she was the one writer people knew and talked about). She has a great attraction for simple people who are puzzled by organized society, who object to paying taxes, who dislike the “welfare” state, who feel guilt at the thought of the suffering of others but who would like to harden their hearts. For them, she has an enticing prescription: altruism is the root of all evil, self-interest is the only good, and if you’re dumb or incompetent that’s your lookout."
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Radiofreeeuropa
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gamahuche5 months, 2 weeks ago
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The context is a wee bit over my head.. I do read the NYT as a news source but seldom stumble on its literary pages.
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I did like some of the writing here - especially the comments relating to sexual attitudes and behaviours, which seem to create such enormous sound and fury and obsessiveness - as in the never-ending WJC saga, which apart from its amusing details would be very small potatoes in most European countries - including the nominally Catholic ones, where mistresses are de rigeur and alternative sexual preferences well-known, if sometimes left unspoken of.
This was funny though and I liked especially:
"To the average American the word “morality” means sex, period. If you don’t cheat on your wife, you’re moral. It is part of our national genus to have no tradition of public morality. We are pleased to dismiss politics as entirely corrupt, if not financially, intellectually. Cheating the government of its taxes, and one another in business, is not only natural but necessary to survival. Now I would suggest that a man’s relation to society is a matter of greater moral urgency than his sexual dealings which, after all, are a private and relative matter. When a writer convincingly shows us, as Brammer does, young politicians devoted to right action, I am profoundly moved and morally edified. Prescott misses the moral point, preferring to dig for sex."
To which I add my loud "hear, hear!"
And a recommendation for a listen to Ian Dury - alas no longer with us :(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY1PpnaGwMk -
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Radiofreeeuropa5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Good points Gama, Gore Vidal is an excellent author himself specializing in focusing a magnifying glass on a particular place and researching the history with a fine tooth comb, always a fascinating read. Remarkable that this letter to the editor was originally published in 1961, republished by Esquire here...my how little has changed...
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No, what has changed is the chasm between the Gore Vidals of the world and the Ayn Rands...it somehow is wider.
Ah yes the world is certainly missing some shades from it's palate without Ian.
There is a little Blockhead in each of us. -
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Radiofreeeuropa5 months, 2 weeks ago
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Being originally from the USSR, I understand her contempt of the type of government they passed off as communism. The blind worship at the alter of self is forgivable for her personally as a reactionary measure...but her followers? Greenspan was one of them...I believe he's abandoned objectivism since observing it's effect on the economy.
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alakazam5 months, 2 weeks ago
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She was essentially the creator of a form of quasi-nihilism who believed men could achieve a self realized godhead.
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The problem is that the path she presented was essentially amoral. She believed in stomping on the faces of an imaginary "lesser man" to reach the top of the pile.
A lot of her work isn't fiction and smacks of pure totalitarianism. She tried to "pretty it up" with the term "objectivism" .
She presented the idea that there were "Supernormals" who were the rightful masters of civilization...that all the good things that free men should expect proceed not from natural right but from the benevolence of Masters properly served. It's a slavers dream. Particularly since all her "supernormals" don't have a scrap of ethics and could care less if the world burns if they aren't getting their every whim of control and scrap of cash out of the deal.
In some places she is worshiped like a god.
http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=in...
It's really pleasant on the surface but the depths plumb into pure darkness.
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alakazam5 months, 2 weeks ago
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What a thing to wake up to on an absolutely beautifully rainy morning. A rainy day and Ayn Rand ...sure to put one on the dark side of philosophical contemplation. There is nothing quite like a taking a big bite out of evil before breakfast.
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"Ayn Rand’s “philosophy” is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society. Moral values are in flux. The muddy depths are being stirred by new monsters and witches from the deep. Trolls walk the American night."
Vidal certainly sets it out there. This is every bit as relevant 50 years later as it was the day it was written. If anything the barb has become even more pointed and settled even deeper in the wound.
This is not a deconstruction of Rand ...it's a demolition.
I love it!
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Radiofreeeuropa5 months, 2 weeks ago
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I hit the beach early, before the tourists...nice and clear- a glorious day...as novels, well, Rand's characters are one dimensional cartoons, the idea of championing the individual is a good one, yet hardly hers, and she takes it a step further to bestow godhood on the ego...it's simply a reflection of an ego driven personality, a psychosis of sorts. How these ideas appeal to anyone over the age of 15 is puzzling. In the search for meaning, you can skip reading this, unless you seek to understand what drives white collar crime.
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Progressive5 months, 2 weeks ago
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FTA:
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"She has a great attraction for simple people who are puzzled by organized society, who object to paying taxes, who dislike the 'welfare' state, who feel guilt at the thought of the suffering of others but who would like to harden their hearts."
Sounds like a lot of the neocons on Propeller. -
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