Sup, Dog?

you ever read atlas shrugged?

That shit was soul crushingly boring. Like, it hurt my soul to sit through the whole thing.

i know right? those chapter long speeches were unbearable!

I like the Dorothy Parker quote: "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force."

lol. you know, it wouldn't even be that bad if the message wasn't completely absurd.

I know ... Who the fuck sees it necessary to rant against human altruism?

i can understand her reasons for doing it. she did escape from a highly "altruistic" and repressive society, she was probably compensating for something as well.

I'd hardly call Russia Altruistic. Collectivist yes. Altruistic no.

thus the " ". you ever read the prince?

Machiavelli being ironic? Good stuff.

ironic? you mean because of his past works?

I mean because of his actual philosophy. The prince was written more or less as a patronage piece.

true, he was just sucking up to the medici's, but the book did have some merit nevertheless.

Oh no, don't get me wrong, it was a brilliant work, it's just most of it Machiavelli himself disagreed with. Not to mention the stuff that is commonly misinterpreted, like the passage "It's better to be feared than loved ..." Where the ideal is actually to be both loved and feared.

Well, just because he praised a republic doesn't mean he can't praise a monarchy. both have their drawbacks and virtues. yes, it's sad to see the book being misquoted so frequently

If I had a time machine, I'd make Machiavelli and Ayn Rand fight to the death for my amusement.

really? i would think Karl Marx would make the better combatant.

Nyah, I'm not saying Marx isn't a giant, I'm just saying growing up in Prussia he probably picked up fighting that would make a fight with other philosophers kinda one-sided.

hmm, do you think adam smith would be able to take Marx?

You don't think a sissy fight between two literary giants would be hilarious?