For all you Randians out there. Came across this while examine the finalized Florida general election ballot. Amongs the staggering list of 13 tickets, plus one write in, that will be on our ballot, is the Objectivist Party consisting of Tom Stevens and Alden Link.
Their platform seems to consist solely of excerpts from Ayn Rand’s books.
While I reject Objectivsm in favor of Subjectivism, I know there are those here that are Randians that might be interested.
The party is only on the ballot in Colorado and Florida, which does not say much, because almost EVERY party is on the ballot in those two states.
There is nothing Objectivst about this group. Their primary implied justification for their party is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt (a bigtime statist) which implies that talk is cheap and the only way to create real political change is through politics. This is nonsense - political action is useless until the philosophical support exists for genuine social change. If such a philosophical change came about, voting would be one of the least effective (and possibly counter-productive) ways to challenge the State’s monopoly.
I think you will find that the vast majory of Objectivists share my view on this - this is why the Ayn Rand Institute is just now preparing to open a branch in Washington DC. (Something I’m not happy abiout.)
This is Ironic! After reading the smears against libertarianism I read this “Dr. Stevens is the Founder of the Objectivist Party. He was elected to the Judiciary Committee of the Libertarian Party in 2006 and re-elected in 2008. He served as a New York State Delegate to the Libertarian Party’s National Convention in Atlanta in 2004, Portland in 2006, and Denver in 2008. He currently serves as President of the Libertarian Freedom Council, a national organization of students, young professionals and entrepreneurs and also serves as a member of the LPNY State Committee. In the Republican Presidential Primary, he was a supporter of Ron Paul and served as Political Consultant and New York State Coordinator for the Paul For President Coalition.”
Wow! So I guess libertarianism isn’t that bad after all!
Edit:
They have this quote elsewhere:
"The “libertarians”…plagiarize Ayn Rand’s principle that no man may initiate the use of physical force, and treat it as a mystically revealed, out-of-context absolute…In the philosophical battle for a free society, the one crucial connection to be upheld is that between capitalism and reason. The religious conservatives are seeking to tie capitalism to mysticism; the “libertarians” are tying capitalism to the whim-worshipping subjectivsim and chaos of anarchy. To cooperate with either group is to betray capitalism, reason, and one’s own future. (Harry Binswanger: “Q & A Department: Anarchism,” TOF, Aug. 1981, 12.), "
: In a world… where nothing is what it seems… </ end voice>
I thought the LP was originally supposed to be that, but seeing as both the LP and the term anarcho-capitalism have slid further into obscurity as of late, I can’t imagine it hapenning.
(I scream without exclamation points as the Randians have stolen them all)
From the first page of the website:
Change The Culture! Will You Join Our Crusade?
Plus it was founded on the nativity of the prophet
Translation for Randians:
“Plus” it was “Founded” on the “nativity” of the “prophet”.
Changing culture…a crusade…Founded on a birthday of a leader…I guess I cannot really say anything that is not already obvious to smart people other than “Mao, More Than Ever”.
Any Objectivist worth their salt (not many, it may be argued, but…) would realize that creating an “Objectivist Party” right now would do nothing for their cause. The necessary philosophical context is almost completely lacking. This whole thing smacks of some people reading Atlas Shrugged for the first time and saying to each other, “Hey, that was cool! Lets make a political party about that!”
IMHO the future of the BTP depends on what the Libertarian Party does. If the LP keeps nominating people like Bob Barr it has a great future as more and more libertians bolt the LP in favor of a party that actually supports libertarianism. If the LP decides to nominate a libertarian in 2012 it may fade away into nothingness. The ball is in the LP’s court.
