The Moral Meaning of Capitalism

Posted by khalling 12 years, 3 months ago to Philosophy
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"I could say to you that you do not serve the public good—that nobody’s good can be achieved at the price of human sacrifices—that when you violate the rights of one man, you have violated the rights of all, and a public of rightless creatures is doomed to destruction. I could say to you that you will and can achieve nothing but universal devastation—as any looter must, when he runs out of victims. I could say it, but I won’t. It is not your particular policy that I challenge, but your moral premise. If it were true that men could achieve their good by means of turning some men into sacrificial animals, and I were asked to immolate myself for the sake of creatures who wanted to survive at the price of my blood, if I were asked to serve the interests of society apart from, above and against my own—I would refuse, I would reject it as the most contemptible evil, I would fight it with every power I possess, I would fight the whole of mankind, if one minute were all I could last before I were murdered, I would fight in the full confidence of the justice of my battle and of a living being’s right to exist. Let there be no misunderstanding about me. If it is now the belief of my fellow men, who call themselves the public, that their good requires victims, then I say: The public good be damned, I will have no part of it!" -AR , For The New Intellectual

Do you agree?



All Comments

  • Posted by Leon 12 years, 3 months ago
    I am waking up late on this but wow... I agree totally.
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  • Posted by gblaze47 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    If you like sci-fi it's actually pretty good. Even so, it's pretty easy to over look the sci-fi and look for the deeper meaning.
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  • Posted by Wonky 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    "I woke up late, but I I woke up."

    Rereading this, I suddenly got an image of Keanu Reeves being physically expelled from the Matrix as he "woke up".
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  • Posted by Wonky 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Just goofing around. As a member of mankind, he couldn't fight the whole of mankind without also fighting himself.

    Not relevant to the post... Just to my word salad complex :).
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  • Posted by Wonky 12 years, 3 months ago
    Minor detail... "the whole of mankind" is self-inclusive. One might infer that he'd be fighting himself.
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  • Posted by LetsShrug 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Does that mean Wonky grants me a point or not? I'm lost in the inertia of point pitting. (I don't know what 'inertia' means, I just wanted to say it in a sentence.)
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  • Posted by 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    This passage is from Atlas Shrugged. Part of Hank's courtroom speech. I want to know who can live it. I'm not sure AR did. I'm not trying to discredit, more remind people who grouse over the state of our nation, that they did little to stop the tide. This includes myself. I woke up late, but I I woke up.
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  • Posted by LetsShrug 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I feel (O wwwww...I abbreviated it) as if you are pitting us against each other for points! lol
    I felt (O wwww) as if khalling was going to flip in a zinger on those of us who agreed ...with some profound words of peace. As for Galt, Galt's world is not our world...we have, in a way, a lot more grievances with our gov intruding into every crevice of our lives. In Galt's world it was primarily business related...in real world...the intrusion is per-son-al, in addition to stealing our money, they're stealing our privacy, our freedom of speech, healthcare etc etc etc. Like I asked before...at what point do we realize we need to meet force with force?
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  • Posted by Wonky 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    SPOILER ALERT! I think there's a slight possibility that this is a trick question. To the best of my recollection, Hank won every battle with words, save one, before he Galted (rather than fighting and being murdered by the masses) - signing away his patents to protect Dagny's honor. He did, however, ultimately opt not to fight, but rather to go on strike.

    I just have a burning desire (Ohhh whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa) to know what khalling thinks. If I don't like it, I might give you a point anyway ;).
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  • Posted by Wonky 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Ouch. I usually have a part 2 in mind... I think we all want to hear your answer to your own question. If you give us your answer, I won't de-neutralize LS.
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  • Posted by 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    well, I assume you're practicing your principles daily in the here and now. It is once you either put yourself out there or are made point of. It happens every day. If they make a point out of you will you cave or be what you were practicing the day before. That is not to say your plan has to include sticking around. That is what Hank chose. We have a choice, we are not trapped.
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  • Posted by Wonky 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I'm joking with the last comment, of course.

    In all sincerity, however, how many among us actually truly have the intestinal fortitude to take on a whole society rather than just abandon it and practice our principles elsewhere?
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  • Posted by Wonky 12 years, 3 months ago
    "...a public of rightless creatures is doomed to destruction".

    Disagree.

    I will agree that a public of rightless "humans" will devolve into factions where one faction or other will dominate by force, and enslave or kill members of any other faction.

    My cats (creatures) don't particularly care about each other's rights for the most part.

    The bats flying around my yard at night don't particularly care about the rights of the insects they munch on.

    Hell, it's just one word that's off, but still, someone could call it a word salad for that one word ;).
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  • Posted by 12 years, 3 months ago in reply to this comment.
    point for your point. however, natural rights only apply to humans and "Hank" sets up the argument referring to humans, word salad.
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