My Intellectual Struggle

I have been independently studying the Objectivist philosophy ever since 1993 when I first discovered Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged.  Long before Second Renaissance Books evolved into The Ayn Rand Institute eStore, which it is today, a reader could sign up for SRB's catalogs to be mailed to one's address.  I quickly became hooked on the intellectual wealth that SRB endorsed.  I made it my secret goal to read every book the catalog ever sold.  My problem, however, was that they kept adding books at too rapid a pace.  I eventually realized that I was not going to achieve my goal; but I decided to keep on going anyway.

So here I am having read only 133 Second Renaissance Books.  However, the volume of my studies could be misinterpreted because I am not counting multiple readings of books that I read more than once.  For example, about a month ago, I finished reading Atlas Shrugged for the 10th time.  At 1,069 pages per copy, that's 10,690 pages of reading which is only counted as one book of the 133.

Paul Wharton
Objectivist Capitalist Medicine Promoter

Save Your Tax Returns for The Great American Auctions

Ayn Rand held that there are only three legitimate functions of government: the military, the police, and the judiciary.  It has been since clarified that diplomacy and treasury sectors are also necessary to make the legitimate government work--but that's it!

So, what is all this illegitimate government one sees around oneself?  I argue that it should be auctioned off to the highest bidder and returned to the tax payers.

While there may be sympathetic grievances--such as government foreclosures through threats and/or seizures, returning a fraction according to income taxes paid is the only proportional and objective way to do it.  It could work like this:

The states and federal government, if appropriate, would partition off units of formally government controlled property to be sold at auctions.  Then, all income taxes that were extorted would be compiled and each claimant would be given a fraction claim for the federal and each state's auction proceeds that applies.  The auctions would be held that would sell off all of government except for the military, police, judiciary, diplomacy and treasury sectors (This last would have to undergo serious reforms.  It would only function as a storage and delivery of government assets entity).  The net proceeds of each auction would be compiled.  Each fraction claim that every income tax payer had would be multiplied by the appropriate compilation and that money would be returned to the former tax payers.

Paul Wharton
Objectivist Capitalist Medicine Promoter