Hi Paul

I would suggest you read Rand properly and if you are starved for time, you can use software to convert her work to MP3 format and absorb it as you go. This is crucial if you are to ever attain the fuel you need to keep fighting without quitting.

If you need any help on that just let me know. In any event, Rands answers to your questions would probably be as follows, firstly in regard to your original question and then on how to go about it.

The Journals of Ayn Rand

1) Are you the kind who considers ten minutes of his time too valuable to read this and give it some thought?

2) Are you the kind who sits at home and moans over the state of the world—but does nothing about it?

3) Are you the kind who says that the future is predestined by something or other, something he can't quite name or explain and isn't very clear about, but the world is doomed to dictatorship and there's nothing anyone can do about it?

4) Are you the kind who says that he wishes he could do something, he'd be so eager to do something—but what can one man do?

5) Are you the kind who are so devoted to your own career, your family, your home or your children that you will let the most unspeakable horrors be brought about to destroy your career, your family, your home and your children—because you are too busy now to prevent them?

Which one of the above are you? A little of all? But are you really too busy to think? Who "determines" the future? You're very muddled on that, aren't you? What exactly is "mankind"? Is it a mystical entity with a will of its own? Or is it you, and I, and the sum of all of us together?

What force is there to make history—except men, other men just like you? If there are enough men who believe in a better future and are willing to work for it, the future will be what they want it to be. You doubt this? Why then, if the world is doomed to dictatorship, do the dictators spend so much money and effort on propaganda? If history is predestined in their favor, why don't Hitler and Stalin just ride the wave into the future without any trouble?

Doesn't it seem more probable that history will be what the minds of men want it to be, and the dictators are smart enough to prepare these minds in the way they want them, while we talk of destiny and do nothing?

You say, what can one man do? When the Communists came to power in Russia, they were a handful of eighteen men. Just eighteen. In a country of [170,000,000] population. They were laughed at and no one took them seriously. According to their own prophet, Karl Marx, Russia was the last country in which Communism could be historically possible, because of <jrnl_347> Russia's backwardness in industrial development. Yet they succeeded. Because they knew what they wanted and went after it—historical destiny or no historical destiny.

Adolf Hitler started the Nazi Party in Germany with seven men. He was laughed at and considered a harmless crank. People said that after the Versailles Treaty Germany could not possibly become a world power again, not for centuries. Yet Hitler succeeded. Because he knew what he wanted and went after it—history or no history.

Shall we believe in mystical fates or do something about the future? If you are one of those who have had a full, busy, successful life and are still hard at work making money—stop for one minute of thought.

What are you working for? You have enough to keep you in comfort for the rest of your days. But you are working to insure your children's future. Well, what are you leaving to your children? The money, home or education you plan to leave them will be worthless or taken away from them.

Instead, your legacy will be a Totalitarian America, a world of slavery, of starvation, of concentration camps and of firing squads. The best part of your life is behind you—and it was lived in freedom. But your children will have nothing to face save their existence as slaves. Is that what you want for them?

If not, it is still up to you. There is time left to abort it—but not very much time. You take out insurance to protect your children, don't you? How much money and working effort does that insurance cost you? If you put one-tenth of the money and time into insuring against your children's future slavery—you would save them and save for them everything else which you intend to leave them and which they'll never get otherwise.

Don't delude yourself by minimizing the danger. You see what is going on in Europe and what it's doing to our own country and to your own private life. What other proof do you need? Don't say smugly that "it can't happen here."

Stop and look back for a moment. The first Totalitarian dictatorship happened in Russia. People said: well, Russia was a dark, backward, primitive nation where anything could happen—but it could not happen in any civilized country.

The next Totalitarian dictatorship happened in Italy—one of the oldest civilized countries of Europe and the mother of European culture. People said: well, the Italians hadn't had much experience in democratic self-government, but it couldn't happen anywhere else.

The next Totalitarian dictatorship happened in Germany—the country of philosophers and scientists, with a long record of the highest cultural achievements. People said: well, Germany was accustomed to autocracy, and besides there's the Prussian character, and the last war, etc.—but it could not happen in any country with a strong democratic tradition.

Could it happen in France? People would have laughed at you had you asked such a question a year ago. Well, it has happened in France—France, the mother of freedom and of democracy, France, the most independent-minded nation on earth.

Well? What price your smug self-confidence? In the face of the millions of foreign money and foreign agents pouring into our country, in the face of one step after another by which our country is [moving] closer to Totalitarianism—you do nothing except say: "It can't happen here." Do you hear the Totalitarians answering you—"Oh, yeah?" Don't delude yourself with slogans and meaningless historical generalizations. It can happen here.

It can happen anywhere. And a country's past history has nothing to do with it. Totalitarianism is not a new product of historical evolution. It is older than history. It is the attempt of the worthless and the criminal to seize control of society. That element is always there, in any country. But a healthy society gives it no chance.

It is when the majority in a country becomes weak, indifferent and confused that a criminal minority, beautifully organized like all gangs, seizes the power. And once that power is seized it cannot be taken back for generations.

Fantastic as it may seem to think of a dictatorship in the United States, it is much easier to establish such a dictatorship than to overthrow it. With modern technique and modern weapons at its disposal, a ruthless minority can hold millions in slavery indefinitely. What can one thousand unorganized, unarmed men do against one man with a machine gun? And the tragedy of today is that by remaining unorganized and mentally unarmed we are helping to bring that slavery upon ourselves.

And then in response to a readers question as to what one can do she answers from The Ayn Rand Letter Vol. 1, No. 7 January 3, 1972

Today, most people are acutely aware of our cultural-ideological vacuum; they are anxious, confused, and groping for answers. Are you able to enlighten them? Can you answer their questions? Can you offer them a consistent case? Do you know how to correct their errors? Are you immune from the fallout of the constant barrage aimed at the destruction of reason—and can you provide others with antimissile missiles?

A political battle is merely a skirmish fought with muskets; a philosophical battle is a nuclear war. If you want to influence a country's intellectual trend, the first step is to bring order to your own ideas and integrate them into a consistent case, to the best of your knowledge and ability.

This does not mean memorizing and reciting slogans and principles, Objectivist or otherwise: knowledge necessarily includes the ability to apply abstract principles to concrete problems, to recognize the principles in specific issues, to demonstrate them, and to advocate a consistent course of action.

This does not require omniscience or omnipotence; it is the subconscious expectation of automatic omniscience in oneself and in others that defeats many would-be crusaders (and serves as an excuse for doing nothing).

What is required is honesty—intellectual honesty, which consists in knowing what one does know, constantly expanding one's knowledge, and never evading or failing to correct a contradiction. This means: the development of an active mind as a permanent attribute.

When or if your convictions are in your conscious, orderly control, you will be able to communicate them to others. This does not mean that you must make philosophical speeches when unnecessary and inappropriate. You need philosophy to back you up and give you a consistent case when you deal with or discuss specific issues

If you like condensations (provided you bear in mind their full meaning), I will say: when you ask "What can one do?"—the answer is "SPEAK" (provided you know what you are saying). A few suggestions: do not wait for a national audience. Speak on any scale open to you, large or small—to your friends, your associates, your professional organizations, or any legitimate public forum. You can never tell when your words will reach the right mind at the right time. You will see no immediate results—but it is of such activities that public opinion is made.

Do not pass up a chance to express your views on important issues. Write letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines, to TV and radio commentators and, above all, to your Congressmen (who depend on their constituents). If your letters are brief and rational (rather than incoherently emotional), they will have more influence than you suspect.

The opportunities to speak are all around you. I suggest that you make the following experiment: take an ideological "inventory" of one week, i.e., note how many times people utter the wrong political, social and moral notions as if these were self-evident truths, with your silent sanction.

Then make it a habit to object to such remarks—no, not to make lengthy speeches, which are seldom appropriate, but merely to say: "I don't agree." (And be prepared to explain why, if the speaker wants to know.)

This is one of the best ways to stop the spread of vicious bromides. (If the speaker is innocent, it will help him; if he is not, it will undercut his confidence the next time.) Most particularly, do not keep silent when your own ideas and values are being attacked. Do not "proselytize" indiscriminately, i.e., do not force discussions or arguments on those who are not interested or not willing to argue. It is not your job to save everyone's soul. If you do the things which are in your power, you will not feel guilty about not doing—"somehow"—the things which are not. Above all, do not join the wrong ideological groups or movements, in order to "do something." By "ideological" (in this context), I mean groups or movements proclaiming some vaguely generalized, undefined (and, usually, contradictory) political goals. (E.g., the Conservative Party, that subordinates reason to faith, and substitutes theocracy for capitalism; or the "libertarian" hippies, who subordinate reason to whims, and substitute anarchism for capitalism.)

To join such groups means to reverse the philosophical hierarchy and to sell out fundamental principles for the sake of some superficial political action which is bound to fail. It means that you help the defeat of your ideas and the victory of your enemies. (For a discussion of the reasons, see "The Anatomy of Compromise" in my book Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.)

The only groups one may properly join today are ad hoc committees, i.e., groups organized to achieve a single, specific, clearly defined goal, on which men of differing views can agree. In such cases, no one may attempt to ascribe his views to the entire membership, or to use the group to serve some hidden ideological purpose (and this has to be watched very, very vigilantly).

I am omitting the most important contribution to an intellectual movement—writing—because this discussion is addressed to men of every profession. Books, essays, articles are a movement's permanent fuel, but it is worse than futile to attempt to become a writer solely for the sake of a "cause." Writing, like any other work, is a profession and must be approached as such. It is a mistake to think that an intellectual movement requires some special duty or self-sacrificial effort on your part.

It requires something much more difficult: a profound conviction that ideas are important to you and to your own life. If you integrate that conviction to every aspect of your life, you will find many opportunities to enlighten others.

The reader whose letter I quoted, indicates the proper pattern of action: "As a teacher of astronomy, for several years, I have been actively engaged in demonstrating the power of reason and the absolutism of reality to my students...I have also made an effort to introduce your works to my associates, following their reading with discussion when possible; and have made it a point to insist on the use of reason in all of my personal dealings."

These are some of the right things to do, as often and as widely as possible. But that reader's question implied a search for some shortcut in the form of an organized movement. No shortcut is possible.

It is too late for a movement of people who hold a conventional mixture of contradictory philosophical notions. It is too early for a movement of people dedicated to a philosophy of reason. But it is never too late or too early to propagate the right ideas—except under a dictatorship.

If a dictatorship ever comes to this country, it will be by the default of those who keep silent. We are still free enough to speak. Do we have time? No one can tell. But time is on our side—because we have an indestructible weapon and an invincible ally (if we learn how to use them): reason and reality.

All the best

Hilton

I admit that reason is a small and feeble flame, a flickering torch by stumblers carried in the starless night, -- blown and flared by passion's storm, -- and yet, it is the only light. Extinguish that, and nought remains.- - Robert Green Ingersoll

Elijah, every-one will avoid rules but only if they think they can get away with it. I make sure that I pay as little tax as legally and creatively possible. But that really falls in the "Comply and get on with it" category.

But will you stand up and be counted? Will you stand up and say "Taxes are unjust" tell them where to stick it without any trickery?

Another example, Will you comply and destroy your garden landscape with a pool-fence to keep the little shits from the neighbours from falling in when trespassing or will you stick it to the council and openly tell them to go away? Defiance.

Carbon Tax is a hoax. Read more at carbonhoax.org.nz and spread the word.

said Dinther, although there is no need to start name calling with regards to King.

You make an interesting point that few people can stop paying taxes (or never start in the first place).
The reason for this is a lack of understanding about tax laws...bascially, 'income' is being taxed...so the thing to do is get the income off your books and call it something else, with documentation to back it up...and then, as it is no longer 'income' there are no taxes to pay.

Dinther, you wrote

As far as Rand is concerned, go and sit next to Lindsay in your daily Rand prayer. The more I hear that woman quoted the less I am inclined to read any of what she wrote. First and foremost I like to think for myself.

KingRandor, or is is KingCanute, who admits in the same sentence he gives 'Rand's views' on a topic, that he has never read her, thus completely misrepresents her - it can't be any other way, he has not read her. And that is exactly why you HAVE to start reading Rand's writings.

You can't 'think for yourself' on what she says, unless you know what she says

Our big mouthed know it all American who has never been anywhere again.

Sigh, OK, I'll bite, after all this is a discussion site. Philosophy that is why I raise the question. To comply or not and will I take the consequences. We can be all nice and principled but very few of us actually stand up, shout fuck-you and stop paying taxes.

So we are all raising issues, post it on the boards and basically exercise the few rights of speech we have left while staying within the confines of the law as it stands. Fact is that most financial successful business people don't whinge and whine but get on with things, comply and try to get one over the government the legal way and fuck principles. My point is that they are likely to get more political traction than we do.

As far as Rand is concerned, go and sit next to Lindsay in your daily Rand prayer. The more I hear that woman quoted the less I am inclined to read any of what she wrote. First and foremost I like to think for myself.

"Law abiding citizen"  the term alone makes me puke, yet I made that statement to show there is different points of view and as I already concluded, when it comes down to it we all comply to the current laws and rarely stand up to face it head on so shut up.

I am not sure if you actually read what I write, if you are just stupid or simply a masochist who likes it to be verbally beaten around the head. I suspect the latter. 

Carbon Tax is a hoax. Read more at carbonhoax.org.nz and spread the word.

Woah Woah Woah- how DARE you speak up against the Carbon Tax! You're not gonna change it, so just GO WITH THE FLOW!

Y'know, I may have never read Atlas Shrugged, but I have listened to a few of the chapters...and from what I do know, right now, your argument really sounds like the opposite of everything Mrs. Rand tried to teach.

Wait "law-abiding citizen"? Who are you- Bill Clinton? Now you're re-defining what sucking up to bullies is? Geez dude. A is A, you should know that. If I want to hear a Bill Clinton monologue, I'll head over to moveon.org. I come hear to talk about stuff via philosophical arguments...and with people who use reason. Please explain to me why I still think I'm coming HERE to do that...

So again- HOW DARE YOU speak against the Carbon Tax! Of course it's a hoax, but what can you do about it NOW? Just keep sucking the dick of whoever is pulling this shit( including Al Gore), and you can look back knowing that you were able to hold onto everything you hold dear...with the obvious exception of your dignity, self-respect, and principles

Ok, that would put you in the "Not so wealthy, angry and principled" category.

You say "Just bribe whoever is bullying you" but you could also say "Law abiding citizen". Yes he does have kids. All great kids age 12, 15 and 18 with a good attitude.

In the long run this policy of paying off the "authorities" may not work but it has worked for many decades so far. Besides, if shit were to hit the fan he'd be safe to go with whatever the going opinion is since "he's had enough of compliance"

Let's face it. If you can live with yourself you'd never be on the wrong side. However, if you speak up you find yourself defending your position while you are still forced to comply. And the reward? I get to feel good about myself because "I told them were to stick it" at the cost of some lost productivity.

Carbon Tax is a hoax. Read more at carbonhoax.org.nz and spread the word.

HERE'S where your friend is wrong- and I'm surprised no one else is smart enough to bring this up: does he have kids? If not, then fine. But don't expect anyone to look up to this man for inspiration in the long run.

And if he DOES have kids, I fear the kind of morals he's teaching them- just bribe whoever is bullying you and they'll go away..for now. Wow, how about I bring your friend to Joseph Stalin's tomb while we're at it? I bet he'd LOVE to suck some 80-year old corpse's cock!

While we're at it...is his hero John Kerry? Mitt Romney perhaps? GERALD FORD?! Please, I'd love to know!

To quote Winston Churchill "an appeaser is someone who feeds a crocodile, hoping it'll eat him last"

do not want to give the game away...(you never know who is snooping around solopassion.com)...but I have a philosophical attitude towards this which ensures one is never out of pocket.

On the one hand I comply with silly, childish, unnecessary laws and regulations, enduring and paying 'Compliance Costs'...and on the other hand looting the NZ Government with a handful of 'novel undertakings' which sees me periodically depositing 'compensation' into the bank.

I take the view there is no difference between the NZ Government and a Mafia organisation...both engaging in theft, extortion and threats of violence...and therefore the Government should be considered 'fair game'

"I know, I know. This will only allow things to get worse over time and one day the balance will not tip in favour of this kind of policy.”

Well there you go; you just answered your own question. It’s the difference between people who see where we’re heading and people who don’t even think about it and just go about their lives as if nothing is wrong (let alone getting worse every day). Your friend is right though. In the short term if he just plays ball he has way more time to make the money he’s losing to the government back with interest. The thing is, right now as a country we’re getting more and more socialized and if no one does anything about it eventually he’s not going to be in the workable situation he is now. Asides from that, the system is just wrong weather it’s workable or not. Besides, is he really playing ball right now? Does he cheat on taxes?

"Damn, putting it like that makes you want to say goodbye to your principles doesn't it? Whats is your take on this? "

"I know, I know. This will only allow things to get worse over time and one day the balance will not tip in favour of this kind of policy. But while it works, in absolute dollars he's right. Financially and also mentally you are better off to just focus on your core business and jump through the hoops held up in front of you rather than tear them down. "

What you're really asking is, "Was Ayn Rand wrong? Is ATLAS SHRUGGED just a fairy tale?"