Few days back I participated in a debate competition on the relevance of philosophy . A gal (with whom I had a heated argument on a different issue :))who participated spoke about objectivism in detail and brought me back vivid memories during my college days when I was so enamored by Ayn Rand's objectivist philosophy. Despite my spiritual inclinations and religious beliefs, I found myself very much attracted to her philosophy. I remember profoundly the effect Atlas Shrugged created in me. It inflated my personal ego to dangerous levels and made me stand very tall in the crowd. The experience soon turned faddish n it disappeared within few weeks time. Recently After a long time I grabbed FOUNTAIN HEAD n soon the book gripped all attention and I found myself devouring every page of her master piece. It took quite a long time to juxtapose my spiritual beliefs and objectivist ideals I found in the book. After reading the book I decided to see how far in this flat, nirvana savvy world Objectivism stands in its rightful place....

Capitalism, the wise ol' man smug with contentment over the economic miracle happening at the developing and developed countries alike will definitely owe a major part of his life to the teachings of Ayn Rand. He would definitely paint some sepia tinted memories when the affair began with Alan Greenspan who proselytised from his positivist ideals to objectivist ideals. He would recall with glee how Alan greenspan co authored several parts of the "Capitalism: The Unknown ideal" along with Ayn Rand in the 50's. Ayn Rand in the book firmly asserted that 'if one wishes to advocate a free society- that is capitalism, one must realize that its indispensable foundation is the principle of individual rights. " However in the late 90's with the technological boom happening, capitalism found a new partner "globalisation". This marriage emerged out the most successful one in the US..(I mean.. with divorce rates happening...) Soon several countries remodelled this marriage in their countries depending on its inherent characteristics...(Yes, U heard it right..I am thinking of China)..However this marriage ruthlessly disconnected the umblical cord with objectivism. The mutant genes of the objectivism had been successfully embryoed within capitalism and the roots of the objectivism had been mercilessly cut off. This was essential as globalisation depended on networking of MNCs, countries and individuals alike. How could objectivism allow this concept of men workin together from various continents for the betterment of their lives?? Isnt this a dormant form of collectivism camouflaged in a seemingly innocuous way??? Alas..Capitalism with its new partner didnt bother about these mumblings of the defiled nymphet of Objectivism... She has lost her sheen, glamour now and been thrown out and left to scream in the mahogany almirahs of depopulated libraries.....

One of the most unacceptable parts of Objectivist philosophy to me has been this desecration of this seemingly innocuous word Altruism. After reading the book, I suddenly started to empathise for Altruism just as I did for Machiavellianism when I learnt quite a lot about the genius behind THE PRINCE. If Niccolo Machiavelli would resent at the world for making 'machiavellian' so bad, then Auguste Comtec, the french philosopher who coined the term Altruism would probably cry aloud like those TV serials' Moms at Ayn Rand for prostitutising (haa !!Haa!! my new discovery..OXford guys r u listening...!!)the word Altruism. Ayn Rand contended that altruism is an act of self sacrifice. It could only destroy the self. I TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH THAT....Leaving aside the moral n religious obligations for a while, I can truly assert that being altruistic is the most selfish of all acts. Coz, When u help someone u dont lose your own definition of self. You rather accentuate ur image of self when you help someone who has come with shards of personal ego. As I am writing this I am gettin nostalgic of my school days. I remember teaching tamil and social science to few of my friends in my school basket ball ground. It gave me a mild and unidentified sense of pleasure to see my friends listen religiously to every piece of information I gave. It gave me some sense of my personal identity when I reached out and connected with others. Altruism has infact several medicinal properties. I speak this truly from my personal experiences..courtesy AOL. Many times whenever I ve felt bad about myself , I simply stretched myself and try to help someone in a very small way I can. This extension of myself to others easily lifted me out of the bad feeling I had for myself. This can be infact suggested as nice way to destress oneself!!....However one has to look at the circumstances which led her to conceptualize Objectivism. Her father's pharmacy shop was ransacked by the Bolsheviks. Her high school days were marked with intense fighting during Bolshevik revolution. Her family had to flee to Crimea. Her disgust at Altruism could have risen from the struggles and hardships she had to face under Communist Rule..
I remember reading Nehru's observation about India. He rightly pointed out that India has been a palimpsest throughout the ages, absorbing various schools of philosophy in itself and evolving time to time. Similar metaphor can be applied to Objectivism. Objectivism also has stood the vestiges of time and has also been bent and twisted according to the dictates of time. However it still holds enormous appeal to people in the present generation who still find it inspired by the philosophy to avoid leading second hand lives and find true meaning of the self. It hardly matters whether one takes the spiritual route or follow her path to the ultimate realisation of self. Only the destination matters.. The path doesnt!!