Ever watch the modern “horror” genre? I don’t, but many storylines have been described to me. It seems in the non-ending end of these storylines, the good guys”win” by becoming bad guys. The heroine has to choose between the vampire and the werewolf. The hero becomes the zombie.
After reading through your essay my thoughts immediately went in search of the ideas of Ayn Rand; so for a brief response to your thoughts I will leave you with some food for thought:
"An individualist…says: 'I will not run anyone’s life—nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule nor be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave.'" -Ayn Rand
however unlike Rand or say, more to the point, perhaps Walter Bloch, they take the principal to the point of selfishness where enslaving others is okay to express one's individualism. Rand is frequently taken to mean that, although I believe your quote was from The Fountainhead. (Could be wrong). But whatever her meaning of individualism is, I find it contrary to my own interpretation. In her view, though not well spelled out, there is a selfishness, and that selfish right of individualism can only lead to denying others the rights she expresses. In Atlas Shrugged she portrays a world that falls apart without the singular entitlements of the gifted. I think history has shown the opposite and that kings can easily be replaced, and businesses can be replaced if products fall out of favor (thus the need for cigarette companies to buy food companies, etc,etc). I think actually what occurs in Rand is not the supreme importance of the individuals but their supreme fear of not remaining supreme. So I was trying to suggest the opposite. If all the business leaders "quit" as in Atlas, I think business would continue quite well without them.
Certainly leaders have been known to easily replace laborers, sometimes kill them or treat them so poorly it amounts to the same thing, but if no one worked for them, they might have the most difficult time of any to rebound and survive. Well that has always been my take on Rand, and reading Rand created a reaction within me that was the opposite of her intention.
But good response that did give me food for thought---I'd better explain myself better.
After reading through your essay my thoughts immediately went in search of the ideas of Ayn Rand; so for a brief response to your thoughts I will leave you with some food for thought:
"An individualist…says: 'I will not run anyone’s life—nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule nor be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave.'" -Ayn Rand
https://fee.org/articles/35-of-ayn-rand-s-most-insightful-quotes-on-rights-individualism-and-government/
however unlike Rand or say, more to the point, perhaps Walter Bloch, they take the principal to the point of selfishness where enslaving others is okay to express one's individualism. Rand is frequently taken to mean that, although I believe your quote was from The Fountainhead. (Could be wrong). But whatever her meaning of individualism is, I find it contrary to my own interpretation. In her view, though not well spelled out, there is a selfishness, and that selfish right of individualism can only lead to denying others the rights she expresses. In Atlas Shrugged she portrays a world that falls apart without the singular entitlements of the gifted. I think history has shown the opposite and that kings can easily be replaced, and businesses can be replaced if products fall out of favor (thus the need for cigarette companies to buy food companies, etc,etc). I think actually what occurs in Rand is not the supreme importance of the individuals but their supreme fear of not remaining supreme. So I was trying to suggest the opposite. If all the business leaders "quit" as in Atlas, I think business would continue quite well without them.
Certainly leaders have been known to easily replace laborers, sometimes kill them or treat them so poorly it amounts to the same thing, but if no one worked for them, they might have the most difficult time of any to rebound and survive. Well that has always been my take on Rand, and reading Rand created a reaction within me that was the opposite of her intention.
But good response that did give me food for thought---I'd better explain myself better.