Debt & Penance : Ayn Rand

From my latest book “Debt en Penance”.

A first impression ~ reading Ayn Rand ~ might be that she was a victim of the Communistic system, the system where free thinking and acting were forbidden for the average civilian according to this dictatorship. Everything was pointed out and settled ~ dictated ~ by the Government. The controlling power was even harder. Although this kind of Socialism would imply equality for every civilian it didn’t work afterwards. You may consider it as a closed morality, where values and cultural expressions are not tolerated than that they represent the mind-set of the authorities of the dictatorship.

The motor of the economics does also move as a way of speaking, it is statically a machine with one speed without any excessive ac- or de-celerations. Any enterprising individual with some ambition is to be overruled, because that may be successful and therefore a risk to the system. So we deal with a strong social dependence without any authenticity or self-reliance. Everything has been taken care of by the Government so that implies obligations backwards, namely unconditional ad-diction. What we see is the obstructed way of self-development, to gain one’s own identity by free research. life and expressions. So the Government is selfish, so its civilians are as a reflect on it.

Because you can’t read it from the faces who can be trusted Rand tells us that selfishness arises above all, rationally speaking. That’s what she means with self-reliance. The meaning of selfishness is close to egoism ~ I do agree ~ although it indeed has a lot to do with integrity and intelligence as Rand claims too. As long as selfishness is based upon integrity that can be controlled by reason, then it is alright and the right way to live your life. That is what freedom is to her and thereby free interactions and communications between individuals are not to be disturbed but only guaranteed by the Government.

It is in a way a little peculiar that although the social system as the Communism equalizes all people Ayn Rand assumes that all people are capable to do so ~ self-development ~ which means that all people are more or less equal and have the same talent and competences to achieve this. Despite the fact that it isn’t of course so she doesn’t want the Government to interfere with no one at all. As I consider it that way then the selfishness of Rand is an egoism in the way we commonly use the term in our society.

Is self-identification part of the process Rand is pointing at and is rational selfishness synonymous to self-consciousness ? Reading Nicolaas van Cusa he suggested that there is a higher state of mind above the common sense of mankind. According to him it was “reason”, while the process is called “reasoning”. Of course reasoning is more than debating. Interactions with the environments facilitates this process and may even empower that. The product is “rationality” ~ Aristotle ~ where the individual has found an inner balance between cognitive and intuitive skills. As long this balance can be disturbed by its environment, there is no integrity within the inner and with the outer dimensions.

These processes of identifying is of course dangerous for some Governments. Unskilled ~ read self-unidentified individuals ~ can be easily influenced and seduced by some comfort. The ability for influence implies dependence and dependent people are sensitive to “debt & penance”. As long a diversity of mankind is guaranteed in this world these phenomena like a financial crisis exist. Advocating for self-identification by Rand is too simple in expecting that it really is going to happen.

Almost half the amount of all people live in or relate life to a passed mode, about a third of the amount do that concerning the present mode and a small amount has a progressive or future temperament of thinking. The first mentioned group ~ “Animalia laborantes” ? ~ is the one of uncertainty, you may say. Their passed is the most certain aspect. They even prefer a bad certain future as long is it is as certain as their passed life periods. It’s like preferring bad sympathy above no sympathy, that’s part of human nature, captured by uncertainty.

Even in that way ignoring people and exploiting them in an evil way like cheating and manipulating them imply egoism, it has nothing to do with solidarity, integrity and altruism. Self-reliance is important to Rand and that is a hard job because self-empowerment is applicable when you finished your identification. Where self-reliance implies integrity in the activities of actualizing; egoism has always been (too) easy.

So integrity doesn’t know and won’t pander to a financial crisis. A financial crisis only exists for them who deal with money, who need to use money for happiness, where Aristotle suggested that for happiness “reasoning” and “virtue” are the 2 necessary components for happiness. How happy are you ?