Hey there, this week Marcus and I turn our critical eyes towards Objectivism, and tell you why it’s dumb! Spurred on by a certain extent to Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan’s adherence to this wacko pseudo-philosophy, we’ve decided to throw caution to the wind and get as much hate mail as humanly possible.
Download it right here, or check out The Spoiler Show on itunes.
I don’t think we really spoil too much this week, with the potential exception of how the world would look if EVERYONE followed the tenets of Ayn Rand (spoiler for that spoiler: it’s not pretty).
In this week’s SELL ME ON IT, I discuss the merits of pre-sound Hollywood filmmaking while Marcus sells you on a great cartoon show where people use bad language.
Here’s Criterion’s THREE REASONS for my SELL ME ON IT this week, Paul Fejos’ 1928 film LONESOME:
And here’s a trailer for Marcus’ pick, ARCHER:
The Creative Commons attribution link for our theme song can be found here:
“Bonaparte – I Can’t Dance” (Noise Problems Selections) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
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Tune in next week as we talk to comedian Craig Sherburne!
I have read most of Ayn Rand’s published works and have studied Objectivist philosophy for many years. I agree with the philosophy and thus consider myself an Objectivist.
What you guys present as “Objectivism” in the podcast is superficial and highly distorted. Objectivism is not anti-cooperative, and Rand defined virtues within rationality that preclude a lot of the behavior you were discussing as “Objectivist behavior.” What defines self-interest in Objectivism is not short-term material gains, but long-term happiness. This is why virtues (principles of behavior) are part of the Objectivist ethics. Under the vast majority of circumstances, these are principles that are needed for long-term happiness: honesty, integrity, productiveness, justice, independence, and pride. (Pride is a generally non-boastful striving to better oneself.)
If you are interested in a more accurate picture of what Objectivism stands for, I recommend reading Rand’s works, and checking out my blog: Objectivism for Intellectuals. Please see the post on “Short Notes” about morality and check out the links.
Thanks.