Goddess of the Market Author Jennifer Burns on Ayn Rand

Burns is wrong.

Selfishness IS a virtue.

No, she wasn't claiming that Rand tied Objectivist morality to any religion. She said that Objectivism had it's own moral code and ethical philosophy, just as Christianity or Buddhism have, so that Objectivism is an entire approach to life *but* is exclusionary: you cannot be both strictly Christian and strictly Objectivist. But you can be Libertarian, or a classical Liberal, and a Christian/Muslim/Hindu/ad nauseum.

It's a good reason to explore things for yourself instead of listening to the herd.

Whenever I hear conservatives trying to make religion and capitalism get along, I think about how porn stars behave when their fans get too pushy. They spend all their time encouraging their fans to pretend that they have a real relationship with them, and then when they "cross the line", they loudly start lecturing them about how it's all just fantasy.

They deal in contradictions, and spend all of their lives performing a balancing act...

... It's the same thing with conservatives. They try and try and try to make religion and altruism the basis for individualism and capitalism (all while the country gets more and more socialist), and it never happens. All one can conclude is that they're in the game for power.

It's much easier to be a Beltway intellectual who, to quote Rand, slings ideas for a living, than it is to get a real freaking job.

Did she sa y "herstorical context?"

Please, I've read A. Rand writtings, while she makes valid points throughout some historical backgrounds, her main objectivity was still state controls to contain entrepenureship. I dismiss her as a inside thinker. Unfortunately I've never met a woman economist who actually understands the business cylce and the casual-realist approach. Simply, they just do not get it. See Suze Gorman.

I dunno about "disaster", but it may simply be the lock of hair casting a shadow on her face. Switching the positions around might have helped.

Did I see a "Quite spending..." sign?

You can take the girl out of Russia but you can't take the Russia out of the girl. Forget the words, look at the practical results, she was a totalitarianist.