I was asked to explain myself recently on the points I make about how the classical economists such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo are not responsible for the intellectual barbarity that passes for free market economics in this sorry world. Indeed intellectual barbarity is too flattering a description of this abortion of a system as I can find nothing intellectual in it. As I have alluded to in earlier posts, the foundations of what passes for economic theory today are to be found in the writings of the Russian born naturalised American Ayn Rand. I have not enough space here to give a proper description of Rand's ravings but I will attempt to summarise what is in reality psychopathy masquerading as philosophy.
Adam Smith preempted the philosophy of Ayn Rand in 1776 when he wrote that "All for ourselves, and nothing for other people, seems in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind" because that is the dominant message of the philosophy that Rand called Objectivism. This belief system has become very popular and influential, particularly in the United States, and was, as far as I am concerned, the dominant influence on Thatcher. For example, Paul Ryan is a US Congressman and is the incumbent Speaker of the House of Representatives. He has been a Congressman since 1999 and in 2012 was the Republican candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the United States. Ryan is an enthusiastic supporter of Objectivism. He is also a prominent Roman Catholic. As a result of Ryan's candidacy and his outspoken admiration for Objectivism, 157 prominent Roman Catholic intellectuals published a paper called "On All of Our Shoulders" expressing alarm at Ryan's economic and social policy proposals and dissociating Roman Catholicism from the teachings of Objectivism, stressing how Congressman Ryan, whilst being perfectly free to promote his ideas as a candidate, was not entitled to present them as representing Catholic teaching. 'On All of Our Shoulders' stated that
“Congressman Paul Ryan's candidacy for Vice President brings the threat of this social philosophy home to the Church. We do not question Paul Ryan's faith. We are concerned however, that defenders of Ryan have gone beyond highlighting the aspects of Catholic moral teaching with which his political positions are laudably consistent, to argue that his Ayn Rand "inspired" individualist and anti-government vision and the policies they inform are themselves legitimately Catholic. They are not!"
This group of American Catholics were particularly concerned with the anti-social nature of Objectivist philosophy and the dangers it poses to social cohesion and unity. This is because Objectivism demands a completely unrestricted and unregulated economic system, extreme individualism, selfishness and unrestrained greed, and the complete removal of all welfare. It condemns altruism as evil, and, as I said earlier, beginning with the premiership of Margaret Thatcher, its ideas have become increasingly influential in Britain as well. If you are kind enough to read this blog on a regular basis, I trust you will recognise that my principal goal is to understand and explain how the economic and political models that determine policy-making in the Western world are both barbaric and anti-social, have come to such prominence and dominance, and continue to influence public policy when the results of their barbaric and anti-social nature are so demonstrable. The forces of greed, of elitism, of pure unadulterated selfishness have always craved a justification for their behaviour, a philosophical excuse to rape and pillage a society’s resources and deny the rest of society an equitable access to its material and moral riches. They were given this justification gift-wrapped in the doctrines of Ayn Rand's Objectivism. I have written in earlier posts how the economist JK Galbraith told us that "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."
In the so-called philosophy of Objectivism they found it.
Because of its extreme nature, Objectivism must be implemented very gradually and without actually admitting that what is being done arises from this source, as it is in direct conflict with traditional British norms and values. As a result, governments will not admit to implementing the core principles of this particular philosophy but implementing them they most surely are with respect to the institutionalising of greed and selfishness, the systematic transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich, the dismantling of our public services, the demonization of the poor and disadvantaged, and the ideological war against welfare and the public sector in general. As in the United States, Objectivism has become an inspirational guide for successive British governments and their masters in the financial, business and propertied sectors because it justifies and gives respectability to total selfishness and a disregard for the poor and the unfortunate. It makes greed noble and virtuous and absolves the rich from any guilt or blame for poverty and inequality. Rand argues that any form of attachment to any other person, or any social grouping, is a form of slavery, to be free we must only care for, and look out for, ourselves, not even our own family. That, in my opinion, is a form of insanity.
Despite a very brief description of this odious belief system I trust you will see how it is a gross insult to someone as brilliant, caring and gentle as Adam Smith to associate him with the filth that passes for economics in today's world. No intelligent and educated person could argue for the economic and social garbage that has brought both Britain and the United States to the position they are in when they will turn to people like Nigel Farage, Boris the Spider and Donald the Tramp for deliverance from the chaos inflicted upon them by neoliberal free market economic and political ideology. This post is obviously too short to give you an understanding of Objectivism, but hopefully it will make you think and begin to question the foundations our modern societies are built on. As always, you have been warned.
Your Servant
Doktor Kommirat.
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