The great villain in any of Ayn Rand's epic is the Collective.
A few individuals - with their sheer vision and competence, rise above circumstances and follow a passion more deeply held than faith. They overcome odds which cannot be overcome, face personal injury and humiliation, yet remain uncompromising in their pursuit for creation.
However, when this 'purushottam', ideal man/woman becomes powerful and rich and famous - the collective - the masses - pounce on him like a pack of hyenas. They whine, they crib, they want a pound of their flesh. They want to be cared for, protected, nurtured and they want the rich man - the capitalist to pay for it.
Oh yes, and the government is a part of this too. The government - snarl - which celebrates mediocrity and punishes the risk-taking individual. If only, there was complete deregulation and the government had no role to play.
This is the foundation on which the world's strongest country has been built. Nothing is impossible for the individual. Anyone, anyone can create a future that they desire and if they don't - it's their own fault. They need to work harder.
Howard Roark is this ideal man in Rand's fascinating book - The Fountainhead.
The collapse of Wall Street has many a Howard Roarks facing a challenge the size of their egos. And what are our Roarks doing? Are they picking up the drill and going to work on the construction site? Are they saying "I fucked up."
Not really. Our Howard Roarks are whining, victims of the circumstances - for a government to come and save them.
"I got into trouble. It's so big - if you don't help me - the whole world's financial system will collapse. Give me money."
But the world financial system must be saved. So the whining Roarks will have their way. A 700 billion dollar bailout plan is on the way.
The 700 billion dollar let's-clean-the-mess-party is about to begin.
Admission Fees is 2300$ per head - man, woman and child.
Attendance is compulsory.
What does this mean?
We have seen the death of communism. As a system - it didn't work.
While we eye the next promotion and manage carefully our investment portfolios and pay taxes - it is easy to miss the obvious - This one, right here - in which we are - is a system too.
And systems run smoothly.
And they change.
And they collapse.
That's what systems do.
Maybe the solution is not to outsource our life to a paternal government and a mythical state.
Maybe the solution is not to celebrate individualism such that we run out of compassion.
Maybe there is a way - that would allow for self-expression for individuals and be compassionate at the same time.
Maybe this failure is a time to rethink some fundamental questions.
What is Profit?
What is Loss?
Edward DeBono says, we cannot fault intelligent people for understanding what the system rewards and then doing what they would be rewarded for.
What are we rewarding?
What are we holding people responsible or accountable for?
While in communism - the system rewards loyalty to an invisible collective and a very visible state.
In Capitalism - we have rewarded short term gains, quarterly profits, greed and unaccounted risk-taking. We have promised impossible unlimited growth and we have allowed firms to become too big to fail. Shouldn't your right to grow stop where my retirement savings begin?
Yes, this is a time for action and saving the world.
But maybe, this is also a time to introspect about what we want and where we are going and where we want to go.
Hegel on Knowledge
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Reading "The Phenomenology of the Spirit" by Hegel. Find it fascinating.
While, I have myself often taken an intellectual position of not trusting
what I...
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