Objectivist Round Up #174
Welcome to the November 11, 2010 edition of The Objectivist Round Up, a blog carnival of posts written by individuals who are advocates of Objectivism: the philosophy developed and defined by Ayn Rand.
To get us started, here’s a quote from Galt’s speech in Atlas Shrugged on the Mystics of Spirit and Muscle. For the past 2 years, we’ve seen more than enough of the Mystics of Muscle. Now, we need to be vigilant and make sure we haven’t just reelected the Mystics of Spirit instead of those who will legitimately fight for individual rights:
The good, say the mystics of spirit, is God, a being whose only definition is that he is beyond man’s power to conceive—a definition that invalidates man’s consciousness and nullifies his concepts of existence. The good, say the mystics of muscle, is Society—a thing which they define as an organism that possesses no physical form, a super-being embodied in no one in particular and everyone in general except yourself. Man’s mind, say the mystics of spirit, must be subordinated to the will of God. Man’s mind, say the mystics of muscle, must be subordinated to the will of Society. Man’s standard of value, say the mystics of spirit, is the pleasure of God, whose standards are beyond man’s power of comprehension and must be accepted on faith. Man’s standard of value, say the mystics of muscle, is the pleasure of Society, whose standards are beyond man’s right of judgment and must be obeyed as a primary absolute. The purpose of man’s life, say both, is to become an abject zombie who serves a purpose he does not know, for reasons he is not to question. His reward, say the mystics of spirit, will be given to him beyond the grave. His reward, say the mystics of muscle, will be given on earth—to his great-grandchildren.
Selfishness—say both—is man’s evil. Man’s good—say both—is to give up his personal desires, to deny himself, renounce himself, surrender; man’s good is to negate the life he lives. Sacrifice—cry both—is the essence of morality, the highest virtue within man’s reach.
And now, without further ado, the Carnival:
Joshua John M. Lipana presents 2081: A Movie of the Heroic and a Warning to All posted at NewsReal Blog, saying, “A review of a great movie that serves as a chilling warning against Egalitarianism.”
Edward Cline presents Speechless Speech posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “To echo Juan Williams, whenever I encounter politically correct speech and action, I get worried and nervous. It means that I am dealing with dishonesty, with corruption, with a consciously shrunken mind that demands that I speak and write on its terms.”
Aditya Pawar presents The Right to Petition Government for Redress of Grievances, Part VI posted at Axiom, saying, “Sixth Installment. I discuss how the “case or controversy” requirement of Article III of the Constitution has been distorted by Congress and the Supreme Court,”
Edward Cline presents Islamic Ambulance Chasers posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “I sent the following as an open letter of protest to U.S. District Court, Chief Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange, Oklahoma City, in response to the news that she had blocked an amendment to Oklahoma’s constitution that would prohibit state and local judges from factoring Sharia and international law into their decisions.”
Paul Hsieh presents Conjoined Twins with Partially Fused Brains posted at GeekPress, saying, “An interesting article that could have implications for both science and philosophy of consciousness.”
Diana Hsieh presents Last Chance: Pledge for a Webcast on Intellectual Property by Adam Mossoff posted at NoodleFood, saying, “You have one last chance to pledge for Adam Mossoff’s webcast on intellectual property! The project has been green-lit, thanks to to pledges already made, but you need to pledge to watch or hear it!”
Ari Armstrong presents Colorado Election Notes posted at Free Colorado, saying, “What do the election results from Colorado mean?”
Jason Stotts presents Global Warming Continues to Fall From Grace posted at Erosophia, saying, “The AGW movement falls further from grace as CCX falls and greens start to leave the movement.”
Paul McKeever presents Ban the Parka? posted at Paul McKeever, saying, “bikinis and freedom may go hand-in-hand, but it would be wrong to make them mandatory attire at the beach…sadly
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Kelly Elmore presents Why Reading Medieval Latin Is Central to the Purpose of the Atlanta Objectivist Society posted at Reepicheep’s Coracle, saying, “This post discusses the Atlanta Objectivist Society’s Latin Club and the role of optional value groups in building a strong community Objectivist club.”
Greg Perkins presents Objectivism, Not Social Darwinism posted at NoodleFood, saying, “What is Social Darwinism, and why do people think it has anything to do with Rand’s philosophy? Objectivist Answers has an excellent answer from Robert Garmong.”
Rational Jenn presents Getting the House in Order posted at Rational Jenn, saying, “This is a purely personal post about the steps my husband and I have taken in the last year to get our finances organized and cut expenses. It’s also been the source of good conversations with our kids about money and values.”
Amy Mossoff presents Rules posted at The Little Things, saying, “We don’t have many rules in our house for our daughter – mostly rules are for transitions and they can end up being quite silly.”
Atul Kapur presents Q&A on Oil posted at Wit Lab, saying, “I answer three common questions about oil.”
Rachel Miner presents Imperative vs. Experience Sharing Communication posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, “A brief post about these two forms of communication and why it’s so easy for parents to switch the ratios in favor of a friendly, but more directive approach.”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of The Objectivist Round Up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.
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