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August 04, 2004

Peikoff on politics

Leonard Peikoff, for those of you who may not know, was Ayn Rand's heir, and is commonly considered to be the foremost authority on Rand and her philosophy, Objectivism. Today a good friend sent me a link to his website, where Dr. Peikoff has posted an excerpt from a lecture in which he

presents [his] view of the upcoming Presidential election, explaining why he intends to vote for Kerry, and why he condemns not only Bush, but also those who abstain from voting on the grounds that both candidates are no good.

It's worth listening to, though the sound quality is not the best. Best soundbite:

Bush is to the religious state what FDR was to the welfare state.

And if you know us Objectivists, you know that ain't good.

I have to think on this a little more, but right now, I disagree with Peikoff. I think his assessment of Bush's religious agenda is correct (though I don't think it's quite the extreme that Peikoff suggests--in other words, I think the quote above, while snappy, goes too far). In a pre-September 11th world, I probably would have been swayed by this argument. But, given the climate in which we live, I think the choice must be made based on who will do a better job of protecting this country. Kerry has demonstrated his hostility toward the military; has neglected to define what might "necessitate" military action; has expressed his willingness to allow organizations such as the UN dictate (or heavily influence American foreign policy. Bush, by contrast, has shown that he is willing to take decisive military action to defend this nation, and that he will not allow the UN to (entirely) hinder such action. There are many problems with his policies of the last four years, military and otherwise, but when it comes down to existence (Bush) vs. non-existence (Kerry), existence wins.

As something of an aside, there is another vital difference that makes the case for Bush over Kerry: Bush believes, I think, and has stated that the United States is the greatest country in the world. Kerry's politics are such that he could never say such a thing, much less believe it. I don't want a president who doesn't recognize the United States' standing as the most moral country (in it foundations) in the world.

Posted by Carla at August 4, 2004 11:51 PM

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Comments

Too lazy to email...
Did you see this one?
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20040801-124730-8065r
Love the bumper sticker quote...

Posted by: Sarah at August 6, 2004 06:07 AM

The bumper sticker *is* great. So is the article. Thank you.

Posted by: Carla at August 6, 2004 10:39 AM

From one Objectivist to another, I think Peikoff is dead wrong on this for one clear reason: A President has essentially no ability to transform the US into a fundamentalist Christian state, but has a great deal of power to convert the US into a socialist one. In other words, the degree to which we must fear a President's leanings must be scaled by the degree to which those leanings will affect actual action. I would therefore sooner vote for the most fundamentalist Christian than the most moderate and unassuming Socialist.

Posted by: Omedalus at August 10, 2004 09:00 PM

"Bush believes, I think, and has stated that the United States is the greatest country in the world. Kerry's politics are such that he could never say such a thing..."

Google is your friend.

http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/spc_2004_0527.html

"We do not have to live in fear or stand alone.  We don’t have to be a lonely 'watchman on the walls of freedom.'  We can, once again, lead a great alliance.  That is how we can honor the legacy of the Greatest Generation and restore respect to the greatest country -- the United States of America."

Posted by: Jamie McCarthy at September 20, 2004 02:10 PM

George Bush, a person deemed suitable for President of the U.S. because he is the son of a President (with the same name!), who is correctly labled as a "brand name in a suit," who has never worked for anything in his life as an eternal child of privlege, who shows approximately no intellectual curiosity (takes pride in not reading the papers), and who considers himself chosen by God for his position, is just about the least Objectivist candidate for President imaginable (perhaps the anti-Howard Roarke).

Posted by: Something Polish at September 26, 2004 12:14 AM

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