I wish Ron Paul and all the other Libertarians would stop spouting off about Ayn Rand. “Randian Libertarian” is really a misnomer when you consider the fact that Rand was opposed to libertarianism.
The fact that some of you may agree with some of her ideas, in an out of context way, does make you Randian. As an example, consider the idea that freedom is a value. Because context (i.e. more fundamental premises) condition the meaning of less fundamental ideas, what you mean by “freedom” and what Objectivists mean by “freedom”, are two completely different things. You mean being able to do whatever you want (including owning a nuclear weapon or having “consensual” sex with a minor), while Objectivists mean being able to do whatever you want, as long as you are not infringing the rights of others. Such differences may seem subtle and not very important, but practically they lead to completely different conclusions. And in terms of more fundamntal ideas, Objectivists and Libertarians couldn’t be more disperate.
If anyone is interested in learning more about Ayn Rand’s ideas, please see: www.aynrand.org
