Saturday, April 12, 2008
Bribing the looters
Apparently wealthy people are donating big money to universities that promise to offer or even require courses that study Ayn Rand's novels and other writings. Whether or not this is an effective means for promoting Rand's philosophy, you have to wonder whether Rand herself would approve of bribing looters -- and what modern university is not one? -- to teach the morality of money. If I understood Rand the way she intended, none of her heroes would compromise their principles because they were paid to do it. Would Howard Roarke build some neoclassical monstrosity because he got a nice fat commission? I think we know the answer.
[Scheduled]
5 Comments:
By 
Elijah, at
Sat Apr 12, 01:57:00 PM:
bribing looters...the morality of money
or
economic justice via asset/productivity redistribution
By randian, at
Sat Apr 12, 07:07:00 PM:
Just because a university offers classes on Rand doesn't mean that the professors teaching it won't teach from a Marxist and anti-Rand perspective.
By 
, at
Sat Apr 12, 10:28:00 PM:
ayn's brand of nonsense is no less valid than the marxist nonsense being taught now. a wash either way.
By , at
Sun Apr 13, 11:33:00 AM:
Errr, I read that in high school. I read it on my own. Oops, I lie. Nasty tempered Sister Dennis insisted that we read it and were able to discuss intelligently. Thanks mom and dad, for insisting a get a proper education. Most of the 20 somethings can tell the difference between their and there, two, to and too, or can even spell. Most of the public school kids around me can't even get accepted into regular colleges without having to take remedial reading, writing and math. These kids will never be able to read well, let alone wade through Ayn's writings. Just my opinion. But then I do live in the heart of dixie where education always falls behind cheerleading and sport.
By , at
Wed Apr 16, 12:16:00 AM:
I don't see a problem endowing a "Rand" chair as long as the person holding that chair down actually supports objectivism and is competent. It would be counterproductive in the extreme to force some commie already on the faculty to teach Atlas Shrugged along with his/her normal duties.
I think it would also be instructive to the students to see to what degree these centers of higher learning will whore themselves out for a buck, agreeing to teach a philosophy anathema to the entire liberal class which runs education in this country from K through graduate school. Of course they will pitch it as showing their own open-mindedness.
