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There are many out there who praise Ayn Rand, but I often find it illustrative to consider their actions over their words. My reading of Objectivism as describe

There are many out there who praise Ayn Rand, but I often find it illustrative to consider their actions over their words. My reading of Objectivism as described in Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead, would value the contributions of an entrepreneur building something of value to society over financial engineering that destroys value. Rand is also often carried as a banner by those with whom I'm not convinced she would agree.

mikestew 8y ago
As much as I might disagree with Rand, I certainly agree with your insight. The financial leeches of Lampert's ilk would most certainly be the villain in her novels ("Lampert was the kind always ready to profit from the work of others, without doing any of the work himself..."), and not the hero.
- refurb 8y ago
  Financial leech? Are you arguing that without Lampert Sears would be a thriving business today?
  - AnimalMuppet 8y ago
    No, I don't think mikestew is arguing that. But it is also true that Lampert is trying to be a leach on what is left of Sears. (Whether or not he will succeed, the intent is there.) Also note that the difference between "leech" and "recycler of misplaced assets" is thin to non-existent.
  - toss1 8y ago
    Not OP, but yes, Sears would be a LOT better off without Lampert's engineering -- starting with his leaving a $billion in the company instead of siphoning it off to his hedge fund [1]. Lampert has done virtually everything to make the company fail, from employer actions that drove away anyone good, to screwing suppliers so that he now has no inventory, to letting the actual stores look like dingy, deserted, wastelands, so no one wants to shop there. Even in the age of Amazon, many brick&mortar stores are actually learning to thrive, including BestBuy and Walmart. Sears has a corporate history of being Amazon 100 years before Amazon -- they sold everything by its famous catalog, up to and including houses. Of course, much of that institutional memory has faded, but it still arguably could have been leveraged to help it thrive today. I have zero doubt that if it had been run recently by someone who knows and cares about great merchandising and service, it would be thriving, instead of dying by being run by a financial 'engineer' bent on using it as chop-shop fodder. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-27/lampert-s-sears-plan-would-hand-lampert-s-hedge-fund-1-billion https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-27/lampert-s...
    - refurb 8y ago
      Sears was headed into the toilet long before Amazon became big. Lambert was the final nail in the coffin.
      - toss1 8y ago
        Agree, it was on a long slide. I'd argue that the right leadership could have reversed it, but Lambert absolutely sealed it's fate. Following the coffin analogy, I'd say it was sick, but the family wasn't even talking about coffins, but Lambert came in and upended the bed, threw the patient out the window, bought the coffin, put the body in, and nailed it shut all by himself. Now, he's off to bury it.
  - s73v3r_ 8y ago
    Hedge funds have definitely not helped any of it.
elipsey 8y ago
Perhaps my reading was less sophisticated, but it seemed to me that she argued that we are not morally obliged to draw our circle of loyalty, or responsibility to others, any wider than we choose. Welp I guess if we're talking about Ayn, I'll crack a beer and go start the popcorn now....

mikestew 8y ago

As much as I might disagree with Rand, I certainly agree with your insight. The financial leeches of Lampert's ilk would most certainly be the villain in her novels ("Lampert was the kind always ready to profit from the work of others, without doing any of the work himself..."), and not the hero.

refurb 8y ago
Financial leech? Are you arguing that without Lampert Sears would be a thriving business today?
- AnimalMuppet 8y ago
  No, I don't think mikestew is arguing that. But it is also true that Lampert is trying to be a leach on what is left of Sears. (Whether or not he will succeed, the intent is there.) Also note that the difference between "leech" and "recycler of misplaced assets" is thin to non-existent.
- toss1 8y ago
  Not OP, but yes, Sears would be a LOT better off without Lampert's engineering -- starting with his leaving a $billion in the company instead of siphoning it off to his hedge fund [1]. Lampert has done virtually everything to make the company fail, from employer actions that drove away anyone good, to screwing suppliers so that he now has no inventory, to letting the actual stores look like dingy, deserted, wastelands, so no one wants to shop there. Even in the age of Amazon, many brick&mortar stores are actually learning to thrive, including BestBuy and Walmart. Sears has a corporate history of being Amazon 100 years before Amazon -- they sold everything by its famous catalog, up to and including houses. Of course, much of that institutional memory has faded, but it still arguably could have been leveraged to help it thrive today. I have zero doubt that if it had been run recently by someone who knows and cares about great merchandising and service, it would be thriving, instead of dying by being run by a financial 'engineer' bent on using it as chop-shop fodder. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-27/lampert-s-sears-plan-would-hand-lampert-s-hedge-fund-1-billion https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-27/lampert-s...
  - refurb 8y ago
    Sears was headed into the toilet long before Amazon became big. Lambert was the final nail in the coffin.
    - toss1 8y ago
      Agree, it was on a long slide. I'd argue that the right leadership could have reversed it, but Lambert absolutely sealed it's fate. Following the coffin analogy, I'd say it was sick, but the family wasn't even talking about coffins, but Lambert came in and upended the bed, threw the patient out the window, bought the coffin, put the body in, and nailed it shut all by himself. Now, he's off to bury it.
- s73v3r_ 8y ago
  Hedge funds have definitely not helped any of it.

elipsey 8y ago

Perhaps my reading was less sophisticated, but it seemed to me that she argued that we are not morally obliged to draw our circle of loyalty, or responsibility to others, any wider than we choose. Welp I guess if we're talking about Ayn, I'll crack a beer and go start the popcorn now....