Open letter to Thomas M Schmidt:
Your interesting article/course lecture published at http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/schmidt6.html titled “Programming the 21st Century” reminded me of a philosophy course lecture I attended in 1960 at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.
With no prior indication or lead in, the professor closed his lecture with some unwarranted and angry comments about Ayn Rand and students who found her views interesting. He then slammed his book shut and immediately left the lecture hall. At the very least, he acknowledged her existence and her influence.
Your article--with 48 additional years of experience with Ayn Rand’s views and especially her acknowledged influence on Austrian economists—manages to treat Ayn Rand in the same shameful manner that the American news media treated Ron Paul.
DennisLeeWilson:Ayn Rand’s views and especially her acknowledged influence on Austrian economists
May I respectfully ask what Ayn Rand's acknowledged influence on Austrian economics was?
I very distinctly used the word "economists" not "economics".
As for economists who acknowledge her influence, one need only pay attention while reading articles at Mises.org and LewRockwell.com. DiLorenzo and Reisman come immediately to mind but there are many others. Even Rothbard was influenced by her, although not always in agreement with her. For that matter, von Mises paid her compliments.
Rand's major influence is the restoration of Aristotle's views into modern thinking and her own additions to metaphysics, epistemology and especially the moral foundations that underpin Austrian economics.
Because Schmidt emphasized thinkers in these realms, his omission of Rand is a glaring fault.
Apologies, Dennis. I should have read more closely.
DennisLeeWilson:As for economists who acknowledge her influence, one need only pay attention while reading articles at Mises.org and LewRockwell.com. DiLorenzo and Reisman come immediately to mind but there are many others. Even Rothbard was influenced by her, although not always in agreement with her. For that matter, von Mises paid her compliments.
I've been reading the Daily Article for over a year now and can't recall one single reference to Rand. Well, I do remember an article discussing the movie treatments of her books but that could just as easily come from the public radio as from here so maybe one reference to Rand in all that time.
Maybe over at LewRockwell.com they talk about her, can't say since I don't really go over there.
DennisLeeWilson:Because Schmidt emphasized thinkers in these realms, his omission of Rand is a glaring fault.
Maybe he's a closet Kantian?
Or whatever...
scineram:The only three mentions of rand in the article are -randomness -random -Bertrand ???
I share both your love of ctrl +F and your findings.
I may add the bafflement of trying to decide if the wrong article was quoted by accident or if the offense is that Ayn Rand was not mentioned at all. I cannot figure it out.
---edit---
Now I just finished reading the whole thread and I can now figure it out.
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