4 ms·
Yes. Rand does not just think that forced redistribution by the state is immoral, but also that private charity is at best morally neutral, and often wrong depe
by mlinsey 14y ago
Yes. Rand does not just think that forced redistribution by the state is immoral, but also that private charity is at best morally neutral, and often wrong depending on the nature of the charity (particularly if it is "sacrificial", or is given in response to the needs or shortcomings of the recipient, which in my opinion describes most of the charity in the world today). Her fictional works perhaps lend themselves to a bit of interpretation on this point, but her non-fiction work is quite unambiguous.
I know many libertarians are in favor of private charity and consider it a virtue, and many of these same people are also fans of Rand, but they should realize that she disagrees with them on this point.
- WalterBright 14y agoLibertarianism is about people being free to choose what to do with their money. If they choose to give to charity, light cigars with banknotes, spend it on blackjack & hookers, invest in space flight, etc., it's all their right to make that choice. It isn't about the relative virtue of doing this or that.
- olalonde 14y agoAyn Rand was a harsh critic of libertarianism. That's a bit funny considering how close her philosophy is to libertarianism.
- xanados 14y agoI unfortunately can't find a reference (but I'm hoping someone else can!), but my understanding is that group conflict is often greater between those who have similar ideologies than between those of very different ideologies. For example, Emacs vs. Vi rather than Emacs/Vi vs. Visual Studio or Lisp vs. Scheme rather than Lisp/Scheme vs. everything else.