Objectivism 

2 creative works found

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  OBJECTIVISM
  by kevin fitzmaurice-brown

  OBJECTIVISM

• Laissez faire, morbleu! Laissez faire!!
  by H M Bascom

  Is it possible to be a full fledged Capitalist and still value basic human rights? What rights, if any, do the Capitalists support? Capi…

  Is it possible to be a full fledged Capitalist and still value basic human rights? What rights, if any, do the Capitalists support? Capitalists define rights as the individual’s freedom of action in society. That freedom is absolute. The government should take a laissez-faire position with respect to markets and individual action. PART ONE Capitalists on Abortion You may be surprised to learn that Capitalists are pro-choice. The real Capitalists support abortion rights. The basis of a Capitalist pro-choice view is that nothing is superior to the inalienable rights of the individual. They hold that a fetus is not a human being, but a potential human being, therefore it has no rights. The fetus is a part of the woman’s body, she is the host and it resides inside her body with her permission. She may revoke that permission at any time. Anti-abortion advocates are deemed enemies of Capitalism. How does it happen then that many Capitalist anti-abortion advocates claim to be against government interference with individual rights yet would themselves interfere with a woman’s right to choose? How do they reconcile this glaring contradiction? They simply re-define human life to suit their agenda, disregard basic Capitalist theory, and run headlong into the battle against women’s rights. They howl at the thought of the government dictating what they can and can not do, yet demand that the government make abortion illegal – thereby telling women what they can and can not do with respect to their own bodies. Capitalists on the Death Penalty Based on the Capitalist pro-choice position, one would expect a true Capitalist to be against the death penalty. The true Capitalist is very much in favor of the death penalty. The Capitalist twists the death penalty into a pro-life position by declaring that any person who murders another has rejected the principles of individual rights, therefore he/she is no longer entitled to his/her own individual rights. The murderer is no longer a human being, but an animal, and must be dealt with as an animal. The death penalty, according to the Capitalist, is not designed to deter the murderer, but to dispense justice. This is a curiously twisted way of thinking. It contradicts itself – like a snake consuming itself by swallowing its own tail. If individual rights are inalienable, and no one, not an individual and certainly not the State, can revoke those rights, how is it then that someone accused of murder is suddenly deprived of not only the very inalienable rights he/she was born with, but is also no longer considered a human being? Who is to dispense this justice? Not the State, but the individual. Therefore the individual, whose rights are inalienable, may alienate the rights of another individual if he/she determines that that person is a murderer and deserving of justice. The Capitalist holds the belief that the use of force in retaliation and in self defense is a moral obligation. While I think that a person has a moral obligation to defend those who can not defend themselves (e.g. our children) we are under no moral obligation to defend ourselves. Shouldn’t the absolute right of freedom of action dictate that I can decide not to defend myself? Retaliation? Where does this moral obligation to retaliate against an accused wrong doer arise according to the Capitalist moral code? It arises from the individual right (or moral obligation) to retaliate against those who are no longer human beings because they violated a right of the individual. Therefore, by removing the humanity from a wrong doer, to take his/her life is not only morally required, it is essential. Capitalists on Education No one has a right to education in a Capitalist society. There is only one fundamental right according to the Capitalist, and that is the right to life. All other rights derive from the right to life, those being the rights of liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. The Capitalist abhors public education as the forcible taking of one individual’s property (money) to pay for the education of another individual who has no absolute right to that education in the first place. The Capitalist holds individuals responsible for their own education and the education of their children. Individuals may ban together to form private schools which they support with their individual contributions, but it is a violation of the individual right to property for the government to require taxes to pay for the education of another. Capitalists on Democracy According to the Capitalist, Democracy is collectivist mob rule and only a limited democracy is proper in a Capitalist society. That is, the only function of democracy is for the election of public officials. Even in a limited democracy, the mob will rule in the outcome of the election. The majority will determine who is elected to public office. Therefore, the individual, acting alone in accordance with his/her absolute freedom of action, can not affect the outcome of any election. It is only by combining his/her will with others of like mind that another individual is elected to public office. While Capitalists claim to accept a limited democracy, capitalism as a moral code and socio-economic theory, seems to be in direct conflict with democracy. Conclusion Part One The curious thing about Capitalists, they are like spoiled children in their view of the world. They want what they want when they want it, but if things start going to hell in a hand basket, they look for someone to blame. Almost invariably they raise the specter of the evil big government, the Socialist, and the collectivist. Does Capitalism sound a little selfish to those of you who live with a more egalitarian society? It should sound selfish because it is. The Capitalist has re-defined selfishness as “good” because it is employed in the exercise of individual rights. ~ Notes The title of this entry translated is “Let it be, damn it! Let it be!” attributed to René de Voyer, Marquis d’Argenson in his 1736 Memoires (publ.1858), as quoted in J.M. Keynes, 1927, “The End of Laissez Faire.” Source Resources: Capitalism Magazine Ayn Rand Institute Leonard Peikoff – Objectivist Philosopher This is a work in progress. I welcome all thoughts on this subject. Please limit comments and commentary to the subjects addressed in this Part. All views expressed in this article are opinion of an economic theory and not directed at the individuals who may subscribe to the Capitalist economic theory.