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The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is largely based around this topic as well. Giving up who you really are can be a very high price to pay just to be able to receiv

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is largely based around this topic as well. Giving up who you really are can be a very high price to pay just to be able to receive some (more) money.

deleted 7y ago
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eeZah7Ux 7y ago
The same Ayn Rand who was living off social security? Oh the irony...
- purple_ducks 7y ago
  I think Ayn Rand and her writings were a pox on modern life and it is unfortunate she is held in regard by anyone, let alone intelligent people... However, living off social security wasn't really ironic given that she viewed the social security payouts as reimbursement for the (what she considered unjust) payroll taxes she had been forced to pay. Also, being selfish was central to her philosophy so this was in keeping with it.
  - oarsinsync 7y ago
    I see this perspective a lot - having only read The Fountainhead, I don't understand it at all, and suspect this is largely based off her other works (including Atlas Shrugged)? My interpretation of The Fountainhead was as I described previously - the importance of staying true to who you are, even if this results in missing out on riches (or goes against popular opinion).
    - andy_boot 7y ago
      Personally, I agree with your summary of the Fountainhead. If you choose to read Atlas Shrugged, however, her opinions start to get more extreme and unsettling.
      - saalweachter 7y ago
        I actually managed to read _The Fountainhead_, and found it enjoyable enough, without realizing it was supposed to be a libertarian manifesto. I usually bring this up to give people a baseline in explaining how loud the preaching eventually got in the _Sword of Truth_ series. _Atlas Shrugged_ is one of the few books I couldn't finish once started; the characters were just too obnoxiously stupid.
        dilyevsky 7y ago
        I read fountainhead years ago (and I couldn’t finish atlas shrugged also) but I recall reading about architects was way more enjoyable than about some railroad tycoons.
fhbdukfrh 7y ago
People are both complex and can change though. Maybe we should give up our worst aspects as we grow and learn. Figure out your core essence and protect it; identify the accidental and be open to alternatives. I know that as my experience has accumulated i care about a few things more and all things a lot less. O also better understand life is a spectrum of many different perspectives, versus the black or white zealot i was in my younger days...

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is largely based around this topic as well. Giving up who you really are can be a very high price to pay just to be able to receive some (more) money.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

eeZah7Ux 7y ago

The same Ayn Rand who was living off social security? Oh the irony...

purple_ducks 7y ago
I think Ayn Rand and her writings were a pox on modern life and it is unfortunate she is held in regard by anyone, let alone intelligent people... However, living off social security wasn't really ironic given that she viewed the social security payouts as reimbursement for the (what she considered unjust) payroll taxes she had been forced to pay. Also, being selfish was central to her philosophy so this was in keeping with it.
- oarsinsync 7y ago
  I see this perspective a lot - having only read The Fountainhead, I don't understand it at all, and suspect this is largely based off her other works (including Atlas Shrugged)? My interpretation of The Fountainhead was as I described previously - the importance of staying true to who you are, even if this results in missing out on riches (or goes against popular opinion).
  - andy_boot 7y ago
    Personally, I agree with your summary of the Fountainhead. If you choose to read Atlas Shrugged, however, her opinions start to get more extreme and unsettling.
    - saalweachter 7y ago
      I actually managed to read _The Fountainhead_, and found it enjoyable enough, without realizing it was supposed to be a libertarian manifesto. I usually bring this up to give people a baseline in explaining how loud the preaching eventually got in the _Sword of Truth_ series. _Atlas Shrugged_ is one of the few books I couldn't finish once started; the characters were just too obnoxiously stupid.
      - dilyevsky 7y ago
        I read fountainhead years ago (and I couldn’t finish atlas shrugged also) but I recall reading about architects was way more enjoyable than about some railroad tycoons.

fhbdukfrh 7y ago

People are both complex and can change though. Maybe we should give up our worst aspects as we grow and learn. Figure out your core essence and protect it; identify the accidental and be open to alternatives. I know that as my experience has accumulated i care about a few things more and all things a lot less. O also better understand life is a spectrum of many different perspectives, versus the black or white zealot i was in my younger days...