Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Ayn Rand's ideas and Mormon thought?

I believe in the brilliant possibilities that can be obtained by individual thought, ingenuity, and hard work.  I believe that a free market is the ultimate place to test and value those ideas and works.  I believe in preserving our freedoms so that we choose the course best suited for ourselves.

I suppose you can tell a lot about me based on those aforementioned beliefs.  You would guess that I am a proponent of capitalism and I might even be a Libertarian.  You could argue that those beliefs match many of those who share my Mormon faith.  And you could also argue that I am likely a huge proponent of Ayn Rand and her core philosophy, Objectivism

Before I read 'Fountainhead' I probably would have answered yes to that last question.  But there was just something about Howard Roark and his actions that just didn't jibe with core beliefs that I held.  I looked a little more at objectivism and I was surprised.

I was going to write my own treatise comparing Ayn Rand's philosophy with Mormon tenants but somebody already did a better job here. I'm all for reason, human accomplishment, capitalism and independence.  But the lack of morality and compassion that I've found in a lot of these materials just doesn't ring true to me as someone who believes in the tenets of Christianity.

Dude