Mumbai Film Screening: WE THE LIVING by Ayn Rand

The ATLAS SUNDAY PHILOSOPHY CLUB presents one of the most passionate and dazzling movie adaptations of Ayn Rand's novels.

Come watch WE THE LIVING (Italian with English subtitles) - a movie directed by Goffredo Alessandrini, and with moving performances by Alida Valli and Rossano Brazzi!

(An) ambitious and ingenious film.
—Caryn James/New York Times

WE THE LIVING by Ayn Rand

It has a passion that is undeniably moving.
—London Morning Star

...A romantic and powerfully-dramatic experience never likely to be forgotten...WE THE LIVING has the power to enslave the heart and the emotions. It's a wonderful film.
—Bill Collins/Daily Mirror (Sydney)

WE THE LIVING... qualifies in every respect as film treasure...dazzling performances...this is a film that avoids the predictable every step of the way...one of the best movies of the year.
—Mike McGrady/New York Newsday

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Spend your Sunday afternoon watching this classic (and historic) movie based on the novel We The Living by Ayn Rand.

We The Living, the movie, has an incredible history in the making--and in its journey from Fascist Italy to capitalist America in the first half of the twentieth century. Directed in 1942 by Italian director Goffredo Alessandrini, the movie was first made illegally without the permission or knowledge of Ayn Rand.

At first, the script was suppressed by the hostile fascist regime, and then cheered and honored, then finally banned again at the height of its success--as the dictators came to understand the comprehensive theme of We The Living.

"The movie adaptation of Ayn Rand’s We the Living is haunting, passionate..." -- Scott Holleran.

To learn more about this movie and buy yourself a DVD copy, visit http://wethelivingmovie.com/index.php

FOR NOW, YOU CAN WATCH THIS FILM FOR FREE!!!

Date: December 18, 2011

Time: 4:30 PM - 7:30 PM

Venue: Ground Floor, Health Center building, University of Mumbai, Kalina Campus, Santacruz East, Mumbai - 400055

Directions: The health center building is the first building to your right as you enter the Kalina campus main gate. The University of Mumbai in Kalina is located on CST Road, which is very close to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Vakola.

The Atlas Sunday Philosophy Club (ASPC) presents an afternoon with Ayn Rand.

The ASPC is a social discussion group organized by Jerry Johnson on a monthly basis in Mumbai and is intended as a gathering for all fans of Ayn Rand and her ideas as well as individuals interested in learning more about this seminal philosopher.

The group welcomes vigorous discussions on Rand's philosophy of Objectivism and regularly conducts sessions on relevant topics of day, such as the politics of Anna Hazare, the relationship between atheism and self-esteem, the morality of capitalism, morality without God, and many more.

Contact Jerry Johnson at 99 303 12 685 to learn more.

You can also join the Facebook page: Ayn Rand Fans in India to stay updated on events and discussions.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/aynrandfans/

Attend the Launch of Atlas Shrugged in Marathi

Professor Mugdha Karnik from the University of Mumbai had undertaken the monumental task of translating Ayn Rand’s epic novel Atlas Shrugged into Marathi — the regional language of the state of Maharashtra–one of the most populous states in the country. [Note: Prof Karnik's thoughts on her initiative to translate Atlas Shrugged are posted here.]

I have personally heard Prof. Karnik read an excerpt from her translation during one of the Atlas Sunday Club Philosophy Salon’s I organize in Mumbai. She read the passage in which Hank Rearden is holding the dying young wet nurse in his arms. It is a stirring scene in the original novel–and listening to Prof. Karnik read it out in Marathi was equally moving.

I remember telling her at that time that I believe she did not just translate the language of Atlas Shrugged but also managed to translate the spirit of the novel.

Anyway, all of this is in preamble to the reason for this post. The new Marathi version of Atlas Shrugged is being released officially in the city. The following are details. All who are in Mumbai or can travel to the city are urged to attend:

DATE: Saturday, Feb 26, 2011

TIME: 7 pm to 8.30 pm

VENUE: Shivaji Mandir, Dadar, Mumbai

GUEST SPEAKERS

Veena Gavankar and Sharad Joshi

Dhananjay Karnik will introduce Sharad Joshi

COMPERE: Jyoti Ambekar

For more details and information about the book, you can reach out to Professor Karnik at the following address:

Mugdha D. Karnik,
Director
Centre for Extra-Mural Studies, University of Mumbai,
Vidyanagari, Kalina, Santacruz (E),
Mumbai 400098

Tel: 022-65952761/65296962
www.extramural.org

Atlas Shrugged in Marathi

"When the idea of translating Atlas Shrugged occurred to me, I was overtaken by awe. The prospect of finding the words that matched Ayn Rand’s powers of expression, conveying the philosophy clearly, and bringing alive the drama in her novel in Marathi was quite challenging. Most importantly, I wanted to be true to the meaning and sense of the text." Mugdha Karnik recounts her thoughts and experiences while undertaking this task of translating Ayn Rand's masterpiece.


I read ‘Atlas Shrugged’ at a time when I had just bid goodbye to the Marxist-communist ideology and movement. Confusion raged in my young mind—about communism and my individualistic aspirations—I was tormented about being selfish and egoistic. Ayn Rand’s novels inspired a new confidence in my own identity; her ideas were weapons to fight my self-doubts about my morality.

When I started working with the University of Mumbai, mediocre academics ruled the scene, much as they do today. The majority of our vice-chancellors occupying their offices

Friends Of Labor

Trade unions in India have demanded economic stimulus packages intended to increase employment in the next budget. They also emphasized the need for a national minimum wage law, which would bring in NREGS workers too under it. Curiously enough, the memorandum also calls for a prohibition on the entry of foreign companies and big corporates into the retail trade. Higher wages are expected by labor leaders when industries which make such higher wages possible are supposed to be regulated and taxed out of existence. Ayn Rand had the typical anti-capitalistic mentality in mind when she criticized people who desire cheap gasoline and at the same time want the industry to be taxed out of existence.

We all have long known how determined the trade union representative is in saving the little man, the hapless worker from the oppression, suppression and exploitation by the wicked capitalist. The unrepentant trade union leader is marked by an ever exceeding cynicism, self-imposed economic illiteracy and stupefying moral bankruptcy. In his eyes, if left to himself divorced from the clutches of the state, the businessman is omnipotent. What makes him really dangerous is not his omnipotence as such, but the fact that he is full of caprice and whim. His range of planning hardly proceeds beyond a day, and he has always had a hard time coming in grips with the fact that others too are driven by selfish motives. The only hope of the worker then lies in the totalitarian state. By the virtue of its cozy alliance with trade union thugs, the state can put a solid rein on his excesses by disciplining him whenever he exercises his whim. In the process, the state successfully legislates out of existence an artificial construct of “heartless” economists: the age old law of supply and demand.

Intellectual dishonesty is apparent in the claims of labor union leaders. If higher wages could be legislated into reality with no cost, we would have achieved it long back. The fact that they don’t demand a drastic raise in wages is enough proof that they are fighting their own knowledge that artificially higher wages would put many out of their jobs. Observe the fact that they stand in the way of any progress like increased capital investment which would significantly improve the lives of workers and show them the way out of poverty. Whatever their motives it is not a genuine concern for laborers. As labor leader Fred Kinnan says in Atlas Shrugged: “Didn't they scream that they were the friends of labor? Do you hear them raising their voices about the chain gangs, the slave camps, the fourteen-hour workday and the mortality from scurvy in the People's States of Europe?”

The notion that the Government can raise the living standards of workers violates virtually every known principle of economic science. The fact that wages are determined by the marginal productivity of labor which in turn depends on the level of invested capital is so fundamental to the issue that no labor leader can claim ignorance of it!

Two Champions Of Liberty

Frederic Bastiat, the most brilliant Economic journalist of all times passed away last week 160 years back.

I personally feel grateful to have come across Bastiat’s petition of the candle makers early in my life. He was the first proper Economist I had read. He held views strikingly similar to that of my favorite novelist-philosopher, Ayn Rand. Both made no theoretical original contribution to their respective fields, but arguably have advanced the cause of liberty more than almost everyone else. They spoke obvious truths which were habitually ignored. Few were as good at reductio ad absurdum as Rand and Bastiat. Both are looked down upon by the academia for lacking theoretical depth, writing intelligently, and characteristics which amounted to “lack of scholarly virtues” and “incompetence” in the eyes of the establishment. Despite the truckloads of avoidable mistakes both have made, they have shown us how much is possible without compromising intellectual rigor or pandering to men’s innate predispositions which are so inimical to the spirit of liberty. It is hard not to see the exceptional talent which roars through their works.

Bastiat, like Rand clearly saw the error of anti-capitalists who abhorred doctrines, systems and principles and ridiculed their “practice without theory and without principle.” They were united against the absurd claim that theory and practice stood opposed to each other. Both rejected pragmatism and understood where irrational skepticism and moral relativism will lead us to. Everything is “a point of view”, they knew, is a notion in which only fools and liars believe in, as it is a rationalization of the unjustifiable attitude that anything goes as long as one can get away with it! Men, both held, can’t survive by adopting a strategy of living on the range of the moment. Bastiat knew that economic science in itself can’t pronounce value judgments, but didn’t hesitate in seeing robbery for what it is, unlike later economists like Mises who were tied down by their rejection of moral absolutism. They found agreement in the conclusion that if morality was pitted against the self interest of a person, he will be forced to give up his moral sense. Bastiat went beyond to say that man will lose his moral sense or respect for law if one stood against the other. Rightful interests of men, they knew, won’t ever clash. The absurdity in imposing morality through force was something Rand and Bastiat stated in strikingly similar words. Rand, like Bastiat, scorned Government officials as exacting parasites. “Naked greed and misconceived philanthropy”, it is true, is the root of all social evils. When Bastiat asked “If mankind is not competent to judge for itself, why do they talk so much about universal suffrage?”, Rand thundered, according to the tribal notion, “You’re incompetent to run your own life, but competent to run the lives of others”. They had the same answer to the welfare state: “At whose expense?”

Their views on self interest were ridden with inconsistencies, but what they got right is far less appreciated by free market thinkers even today. Bastiat, unlike Rand held the largely indefensible position that one can work in social sciences without any reference to self interest. There is much merit in his position, though, in the sense that one would be compelled to support Capitalism even if one believed in the moral code of altruism, a point which Rand didn’t concede. However Bastiat missed the larger truth that people vote altruistically (as recent studies on voter behavior tells us), and as long as they remain in the state of colossal economic ignorance they are bound to support policies which harm the very larger good they have in mind. If voters rejected the morality of altruism, at least the ones who get a raw deal in the end will oppose a disastrous policy. If they considered altruism a virtue or common good a worthy end to pursue, the ones who oppose such a policy would be statistically insignificant.

The Morality Of Abortions

In the 2010 state ballot in Colorado, the 62nd amendment will appear which states that the term ‘person’ shall apply to every human being from the beginning of the biological development of that human being”. It would mean the “sanction” of full legal rights to embryos. It wishes to eliminate abortion and all sorts of contraceptives.

Abortions, it is often argued, would break up the natural order and balance in the ‘society’. No one cares to ask the question- ‘Natural order’ and ‘balance’-For whom? The inanimate matter doesn’t have any rights; nor does a ‘fictitious body. What would it mean to state that it is not the individuals as such that matter, but it is the interacting individuals -‘Society’-that matter? If the individuals doesn’t matter one way or another, & the interacting individuals do matter, it can only imply that it is the interactions that matter. Or else, it could mean that the benefit derived by some of the interacting individuals takes precedence over the rights of others.

Let’s have a look at the implication of those arguments from morality. Let things be as it is. Let the parents suffer. Let the child suffer all her life. Let the ‘society’ suffer as a result.-And let the interactions be preserved-Based on a false theory, a contradiction which has no justification whatsoever. As Ayn Rand observed: “The task of raising a child is a tremendous, lifelong responsibility, which no one should undertake unwittingly or unwillingly. Procreation is not a duty: human beings are not stock-farm animals. For conscientious persons, an unwanted pregnancy is a disaster; to oppose its termination is to advocate sacrifice, not for the sake of anyone’s benefit, but for the sake of misery qua misery, for the sake of forbidding happiness and fulfillment to living human beings.”

Morality is not a spoon that hangs on your roof. It’s a set of rules to live consciously and self-responsibly. We shouldn’t forget that the legalization of abortion in the many parts of the United States brought down crimes unbelievably. Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner informs us: “What else might we look for in the data to establish an abortion-crime link? One factor to look for would be a correlation between each state’s abortion rate and its crime rate. Sure enough, the states with the highest abortion rates in the 1970s experienced the greatest crime drops in the 1990s, while states with low abortion rates experienced smaller crime drops. Since 1985, states with high abortion rates have experienced a roughly 30 percent drop in crime relative to low-abortion states.” Even if common good is the standard of morality, the arguments in support of abortion still hold.

Anti-Business Mentality

In the Indian society, businessman are not regarded highly enough as of various cultural reasons and prejudices. Much of it had to do with the caste system, but it can’t be solely attributed to it. The situation is universal, though there are variations in the degree of the bias from country to country. The reasons behind it as obvious, as it would become evident in these words of Ayn Rand: “Throughout men's history, money was always seized by looters of one brand or another, whose names changed, but whose method remained the same: to seize wealth by force and to keep the producers bound, demeaned, defamed, deprived of honour. Yet through all the centuries of stagnation and starvation, men exalted the looters, as aristocrats of the sword, as aristocrats of birth, as aristocrats of the bureau, and despised the producers, as slaves, as traders, as shopkeepers--as industrialists.”

People instinctively grasp that some men rightly deserve their wealth, and for many, nothing can be more unbearable than this. People hate Capitalism for the same reason, that it rewards people based on their socially objective value. Moser put it eloquently, though sympathizing with people plagued by such notions : “Life in a society in which success would exclusively depend on personal merit would simply be unbearable. “

All this is not to say that businessmen never acquire their wealth through devious means. No advocate of Capitalism, as far as I know, had said that businessmen are angels, and would always act in their rational self-interest. Omkar Ghate reminds us in his column in Forbes that being pro business is not the same as “assuaging the desires of the business lobby.” One of the most common arguments (It is not exactly an argument) I hear against her works is that it worships businessmen and corporations. Now, this is not true at all. What is intended is just that businessmen perform a very important, and often underestimated function. Many of her villains, her critics forget, are the worst kind of statists .

In the words of Ghate , “The true producer Rand shows, makes just one demand of Washington: "Get the hell out of my way!" If we can extort any sense out of statist arguments, it would be just that businessmen bribe Government officials and get things done. This much is true. However, it doesn’t follow from this alone that further regulations are the answer. It is the regulations that got us here. We are in big trouble when the alleged defenders of capitalism themselves call for more and more regulation!

Reason is All

Sudha G Tilak has an interesting review of Heller's Rand biography in Open Magazine. The reviewer recognizes Rand as one of the most original and interesting personalities of the 20th Century.The Heller book, she says, is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand Rand and her life better.

Excerpts:

"Revisiting Rand has never been as interesting as reading Heller’s striking biography. It takes us closer to the creature that Rand was, a compelling entity whose advocacy of rebellion and individualism held a mesmeric quality over those around her, even detractors who rejected her idea of wealth. Heller includes interesting details of how Rand would wear dollar pins on her dress to advocate her support for capitalism, though she did not attach much importance to wealth when she gave up her royalties. Heller points out that for Rand, the wealth of ideas amounted to the intellectual capital she so cherished in her own life. Alan Greenspan might find her ideas appealing, but at heart Rand’s philosophy owed more to Nietzsche, hints Heller."

"Heller’s tome talks about Rand, born Alissa Rosenbaum to Russian-Jewish parents who immigrated to America, and made New York her home to pursue a career in writing. The book is divided in a chronological order following her life and also some of the life of her followers after her passing. Heller finds that Rand’s social criticisms of an industrial America were based on her grounding in 20th century Russian history. Heller explains at the outset that she is not an advocate of Rand’s philosophy, but admires her facets. ‘Whatever one thinks of her positive program of rational selfishness, egoism, and unregulated capitalism, her ability to spot and skewer cowardice, injustice and hypocrisy is at least as keen and passionate as that of her ideological opposite Charles Dickens.’"

Nistula Hebbar has a review of the same book in The Financial Express, which even buys the fallacy that Rand even failed to realize that Roosevelt's New Deal got the United States out of depression.

Excerpts:

"The book points the finger at the one thing, in fact, which makes most people uncomfortable with Rand’s philosophy despite the brilliance of her premises, the fact that this is an imperfect world, and

Special Event: Screening of Ayn Rand's "We The Living" and Live Interaction with Duncan Scott, Producer and Editor

We are pleased to announce a special screening of the film "We The Living" at 3 p.m. on Saturday, 21 August 2010, at the NCUI Auditorium in Delhi.

Based on Ayn Rands' debut novel, this 1942 film classic starring Alida Valli and Rossano Brazzi has a checkered history. It was made in Italy during World War II, without Ayn Rand's knowledge or permission and was based on an unauthorized Italian translation of the novel. Surprisingly, it was a cult hit in Italy at the time of its release, but was soon banned by the Mussolini regime.

Decades later, Duncan Scott helped restore the film and

The World's Biggest Message with a 'GPS Pen'

In the US, one man drove 12,238 miles and across 30 states to scrawl a message that could only be viewed using Google Earth. His big shoutout: "Read Ayn Rand." 

http://gizmodo.com/5611713/man-scrawls-worlds-biggest-message-with-a-gps-pen

We The Living, The Movie

Ayn Rand's novel, We The Living tells the story of individual battling the state. It was made into a movie, first without the permission of Ayn Rand. It was a huge success when it was released, and was reviewed widely. Many consider it a better movie than the film version of "The Fountainhead. A special screening of the film "We The Living" will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, 21 August 2010, at the NCUI Auditorium in Delhi.

Excerpts from certain reviews and interviews:

" The banned, lost, rediscovered: Ayn Rand's "We the Living" lives on!" was published on We The Living The Movie website.

"The movie opened in Rome and was a huge box-office success. But before long, the film came to be viewed as a sly indictment of the Mussolini regime. In addition, the portrayal of an intelligent, sexually independent heroine, groundbreaking for its time, was viewed as controversial. The film was banned by the Italian government and ordered to be destroyed. But Massimo Ferrara, the studio chief for Scalera Films, hid the original negatives with a trusted friend and sent the negatives of another Scalera production to authorities for destruction! After the war, efforts to rerelease the film were ended when Rand declined to grant the necessary literary rights. By the early 1950's Scalera Films had gone out of business and We the living had dropped from sight."
"Philosopher Robert Mayhew on Ayn Rand's novel "We the Living", interviewed by Scott Holleran" was published in Capitalism Magazine.

"What is We the Livings theme?
The individual versus the state, especially the evil of statism. I think

"Ayn Rand And I" By Gurcharan Das

Gurcharan Das has an excellent review on Anne C Heller’s “Ayn Rand and the World She made”.

Excerpts:

"Anne Heller’s excellent biography of the Ayn Rand is an exception. Her great achievement is to have connected Rand’s extraordinary legend and individualistic philosophy of unbridled capitalism to her life as a youngster, Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum, an awkward and wilful Russian Jewish prodigy, who had written four novels by the age of eleven. Heller makes you believe that that Rand’s excessive self-absorption and vehement protest against any form of collectivism are rooted in her family’s suffering in early-twentieth-century Russia, where Jews were violently persecuted and personal freedom died when the communists came to power."

"I came to admire free enterprise after decades of living under the inefficiency of Nehru’s ‘mixed economy’ or License Raj, as many call it. Whereas I turned against state control from economic compulsions, Rand came to free enterprise from her collectivist Russian experience. I rebelled against the inefficiency of socialism; she revolted against its lack of human freedom and individuality. My embrace of markets was a pragmatic decision; she sought in capitalism a moral foundation. Both of us ended in a suspicion of state power but our paths were different. For me political liberty was not an issue because India had uniquely embraced democracy before capitalism. Democracy came to India soon after 1947 but our love affair with capitalism only began seriously after the 1991 Reforms when we began to dismantle the socialist institutions of the License Raj."

"Ayn Rand understood that free markets brought phenomenal productivity and prosperity, but

"Ayn Rand's New York" - a Series of Walking Tours

Frederick Cookinham, a licensed New York City tour guide, runs a series of walking tours in New York City around the theme "Ayn Rand's New York". The tours range from "Ayn Rand's Fifth Avenue" to "Skyscrapers of The Fountainhead". 

Recently, Mr. Cookinham visited the "Ayn Rand in India" blog and sent me the following message:
"If anyone you know will be traveling to New York soon, please spread the word about my tours.  My website is www.indepthwalkingtours.com, or just google "AYN RAND TOUR."

I met the editor of INDIA ABROAD recently.  He was curious when he saw me on a street corner holding up my AYN RAND TOUR sign.  He told me that everyone in India knows the name Ayn Rand.

I hope to be seeing you and many of your friends soon, here in New York -- the city of Ayn Rand."

Atlas Meet in Delhi - Watch Ayn Rand's "We The Living" on DVD

The next monthly Atlas Meet in Delhi will take place on Friday, 23 July, 2010. The sequence of Atlas Meets in Delhi have completed one full year. To mark this anniversary, we have a very special treat: the screening of the movie version of Ayn Rand's debut novel "We The Living" on DVD (courtesy Rajendra Lakhotia). 

This movie has a checkered history - it was made in Italy during World War II, without Ayn Rand's knowledge or permission and was based on an unauthorized Italian translation of the novel. Surprisingly, it  has some stellar performances by Alida Valli and Rossano Brazzi and was a cult hit in Italy at the time of its release. 

Decades later, Duncan Scott helped restore the film and re-edit it for release under Ayn Rand's guidance. The result is a stunning recreation of the novel that brings alive each of the characters and moves you to tears!

Since the film is unusually long at nearly three hours, we will watch only the first half on Friday. The viewing will be followed by discussions, and sharing of ideas, on the terrace over snacks and tea.

Date
23rd July 2010


Time
5.30 pm - 7.45 pm


The Agenda


Session I (Savor and Study)
5.30 pm - 7.00 pm: Watch the first half of the DVD of "We The Living" 

7.00 pm - 7.15 pm: Tea and snacks break. 


Session II (Spread and Sustain)
7.15 pm - 7.45 pm: Discussions on the movie and a broad range of topics, including ways to spread Ayn Rand's ideas 


The Venue
inlingua International School of Languages,
N-12, first floor,
South Extension - Part I


It is an open meeting - anyone interested in Ayn Rand's ideas is welcome. You may call Vikram on 9810028900 for directions. If you're planning to attend, it would be helpful if you let us know by leaving a comment below or by sending an email to vbajaj@aynrand.in .

The Road To Economic Security

The Indian Government is hatching one welfare scheme after another. What is being forgotten is that we can’t legislate economic security into existence. If it were possible to do so, we would have been in a Garden of Eden long time back. Government plans have never lacked ambition. Yet, the history of India is full of government policies which failed miserably.

Rashmee Roshan Lall writes in The Times of India: “Nearly half a century ago, Ayn Rand would rail about the promise of an impossible "right" to economic security for all. This Russian Jewess, who fiercely held to the individualist and laissez faire capitalist beliefs of her adopted American homeland, denounced the "right to economic security" as an infamous attempt to abrogate the concept of rights. She argued that it could mean only one thing: a promise to enslave the men who produce, for the benefit of those who don't. In Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, she wrote, "If some men are entitled by right to the products of the work of others, it means that those others are deprived of rights and condemned to slave labour."

What is being forgotten is that if economic security means anything, freedom is its foundation. It is ridiculous to think that security means granting the Government to initiate force against us. A man is free and secure when no one initiates force against him. All this might seem too simplistic to collectivized mentalities, but this insight involves a profound truth. When people are free from coercion by the Government they are free in the pursuit of economic security. It is not a sufficient condition, but it is a necessary condition to economic security. Whether a man achieves it depends on his efforts and capabilities. Freedom provides him with a way to achieve his goals. It also guarantees that the people who deal with him are free to act on their own judgment. Economic security needs competition in the economic sphere, and it is possible only under capitalism. Statism hampers competition through anti trust laws, taxation and various other regulations.

Man doesn’t need “Food Security Bill”, “Health Care Bill”, “NREGA” or “Right to Education Act” for economic security. All such legislations would only prevent men from achieving security, as these involve initiation of physical force. This can’t be done without taxing innocent citizens. Taxation hampers capital accumulation. It is capital accumulation which leads to high invested capital and in turn higher wages and economic security. All this is counterintuitive, but these are the facts we should understand it we are to achieve anything close to economic security.

Atlas Meet in Delhi - Watch "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life" on DVD

After a break, we're back!

The next monthly Atlas Meet in Delhi will take place on Friday, 18 June, 2010. We have an unfinished agenda from the meeting in March - viewing the second half of a DVD of Michael Paxton's Oscar-nominated documentary "Ayn Rand: A Sense Of Life" (courtesy of Rajendra Lakhotia). As usual, our members are bubbling with other topics to discuss, so, of course, discussions will follow on the terrace over snacks and tea.


Date
18th June 2010


Time
5.30 pm - 7.45 pm


The Agenda


Session I (Savor and Study)
5.30 pm - 6.30 pm: Watch a DVD of Michael Paxton's Oscar-nominated documentary "Ayn Rand: A Sense Of Life" (2nd Half)


6.30 pm - 6.45 pm: Tea and snacks break. 
[Those interested in coming in only for one session, could arrive or depart during this time.]


Session II (Spread and Sustain)
6.45 pm - 7.45 pm: Discussions on a broad range of topics, including ways to spread Ayn Rand's ideas 


 Not in Delhi? No worries, you can also participate in the discussions live over the internet via audio/video conferencing. If  interested, send an email to vbajaj@aynrand.in at least one day in advance.


The Venue
inlingua International School of Languages,
N-12, first floor,
South Extension - Part I


It is an open meeting - anyone interested in Ayn Rand's ideas is welcome. You may call Vikram on 9810028900 for directions. If you're planning to attend, it would be helpful if you let us know by leaving a comment below or by sending an email to vbajaj@aynrand.in .

Force And Mind

Recently, the department of science and technology (DST), government of India decided to sanction grants to science departments of different colleges and universities in Bihar for strengthening their infrastructure, including laboratories. The Indian government is actively encouraging universities to make use of government support, on the guarantee that there is no dearth of funds. The government is trying to bring together two opposites-mind and force, not giving a moments reflection to the fact that both are incompatible.

Government funding of science is an outright infringement of individual rights. It attracts all kinds of rogues to science, who wouldn’t have otherwise in the field, and are more interested in the politicization of science than in the pursuit of knowledge. It would be irrational to expect the government to accept ideas which threaten its existence, or prevent the expansion of its power. Government funding of global warming alarmism and the green movement is a case in point. So, is the fact that the leading universities breed all variants of collectivism.

Take the case of embryonic stem cell research. If the government is to fund it, it should collect the funds from people who may or may not approve of it. Once this is recognized, its inherent immorality becomes visible irrespective of whether the reasons people hold for opposing it are rational or not.

It should be obvious that there can be no moral or economic justification for taxing individual for the alleged benefits in the future. Taken to its extremes, The results would obviously be the slaughterhouse of Soviet Russia. If there is any difference, it would be a matter of degree. People will have to wait and wait while giving up all their pleasures and important needs. As Ayn Rand wrote on the Soviet Union, “Soviet Russia is still unable to feed her people— while the rulers scramble to copy, borrow, or steal the technological achievements of the West. Industrialization is not a static goal; it is a dynamic process with a rapid rate of obsolescence. So the wretched serfs of a planned tribal economy, who starved while waiting for electric generators and tractors, are now starving while waiting for atomic power and interplanetary travel. Thus, in a "people's state," the progress of science is a threat to the people, and every advance is taken out of the people's shrinking hides.”

It is of course true that the pursuit of science is important for human beings. However, to say so is far from proving that the Government should fund it. The Government shouldn’t fund it, precisely because it is important and can’t be left to the arbitrary whims of the state and its parasites. As Ayn Rand noted, when people ask whether science is necessary, it is an out of context goal. “Is science desirable? To whom? Not to the Soviet serfs who die of epidemics, filth, starvation, terror and firing squads—while some bright young men wave to them from space capsules circling over their human pigsties. And not to the American father who died of heart failure brought on by overwork, struggling to send his son through college—or to the boy who could not afford college—or to the couple killed in an automobile wreck, because they could not afford a new car—or to the mother who lost her child because she could not afford to send him to the best hospital—not to any of those people whose taxes pay for the support of our subsidized science and public research projects.”

A report on the Atlas Meet in Delhi on 19th February

The 7th Atlas Meet in Delhi took place on Friday, 19th February 2010. Billed as the 'Fountainhead Special', it attracted a gathering of nine enthusiasts, including newcomers to the meet Mayank Sharma, Bindu Mangalpalli and Ashok Atluri, as well as old-hands Barun Mitra, Vikram Bajaj, Arun Virmani, Poonam Vasudeva, Sunil Khetan and Rajendra Lakhotia.


The evening began promptly with a viewing of trailers and excerpts from the movie "The Fountainhead". Animated discussions followed on issues ranging from the casting of the film to whether it captured the spirit of the novel well or not.


Next, each of the participants shared their favorite quote from the novel and expanded on why they liked it. More than a few chose the famous line "But I don’t think of you." that is delivered by Roark in response to Toohey's question. Others remembered the exchange between Keating and Roark when Roark admonishes "Never ask people. Not about your work."; or the section when Roark feels the emotion of pity upon seeing Keating's pathetic attempts at painting - his true, but long-suppressed, passion. Some favored the exchanges between Roark and Wynand or Roark and Dominique, but in every case it was fascinating to learn how a few words in a novel had such a life-changing impact on the individuals who read them!


Atul started another, even more interesting round of discussion by asking the question if any of those present had any fundamental disagreement with Ayn Rand's world view. There were some who felt aggrieved by her view of India and Indian dance, while others were unhappy with her depiction of the mother-son relationship in her novels; some were still grappling with applying her ideas in real life, but nothing was shared that was of significance in a fundamental sense. Atul, himself, was miffed by Ayn rand's attitude towards women as evidenced by Ayn Rand's views on a woman as the president of the United States! The debate was often heated and lively, but amicable throughout. 


Rajendra had carried a DVD of Michael Paxton's Oscar-nominated documentary "Ayn Rand: A Sense Of Life", but we found that we were way past the curfew hour and agreed to schedule a viewing for the next meeting, which is due on 19th March, Friday.

A report on the Atlas Meet in Delhi on 15th January

The 6th Atlas Meet in Delhi took place on Friday, 15th January 2010 (let's call it "The Eve of January 16th"!). Barun Mitra, Vikram Bajaj, Arun Virmani and Rajendra Lakhotia attended the meet and also celebrated the 105th Birth Anniversary of Ayn Rand (which falls on 2nd February 2010).

It took a while for everyone to get assembled on a cold and somewhat foggy evening. The talk centered around the continuing financial crisis and chances of China's economy hitting a brick wall.

A little later we were joined by a new member at the meeting, Rajendra Lakhotia. It was the first time at the meet for Rajendra, who lives in Gangtok and has been an Ayn Rand fan since he first read her in 1968. For many of the early years, he corresponded with or visited Objectivists on visits to the USA. Back home, he would hand out Ayn Rand's novels to young people he knew and still does. While he has maintained his interest in Ayn Rand's works and philosophy for over four decades, the Atlas Meet was probably the first time he succeeded in connecting with other dedicated Objectivists in India!

After introductions, we began the meeting by viewing an excerpt from Michael Paxton's Oscar-nominated documentary "Ayn Rand: A Sense Of Life". We watched with fascination the glimpses of young Ayn with her two sisters, her early influences in literature and the impact of the Russian revolution on her life. (Her first conception of a hero, it turns out, came from a comic book character of a British officer in the jungles of 19th century India!)

With less time on hand, we decided to watch the remaining videos at subsequent meets and moved on to the highlight of the evening - cutting a cake (a rich chocolate truffle arranged by Barun) in honor of Ayn Rand's 105th Birth Anniversary!

Once the party was over, we concluded the meeting, even as we look forward eagerly to the next one.

Atlas Meet in Delhi - Celebrating Ayn Rand's 105th Birth Anniversary

The next monthly Atlas Meet in Delhi will take place on the coming Friday, that is on 15 January 2010. Since Ayn Rand's 105th birth anniversary is just round the corner on 5th February 2010, we'll also mark the occasion with a small celebration!

Date

15th January 2010

Time

5.30 pm - 7.45 pm

The Agenda

Session I (Savor and Study)

5.30 pm - 6.30 pm: Watch a trailer of the wonderful Oscar-nominated short film "Ayn Rand: A Sense of life", followed by a video of Ayn Rand's first television interview given in 1959. In this engaging interview, Ayn Rand capsulizes her philosophy for CBS's Mike Wallace. The discussion ranges from the nature of morality to the economic and historical distortions disseminated about the "robber barons." She also comments on her relationship with Frank O'Connor, provides some autobiographical information and gives her perspective on the future of America.

6.30 pm - 7 pm: Tea and snacks break. We'll cut a cake for Miss Rand!

[Those interested in coming in only for one session, could arrive or depart during this time.]

Session II (Spread and Sustain)

7 pm - 7.45 pm: Discussions on ways to spread Ayn Rand's ideas amongst students -

i) continuation of discussions on ideas mooted in previous meetings (Organizing talks in schools through personal contacts).

ii) other ideas for promoting the same.

*New* : You can also participate in the discussions live over the internet via audio/video conferencing. All you need is a web-browser and audio capabilities on your computer. If you have a webcam, then you can see us and be seen as well. If you are interested, you must send an email to vbajaj@aynrand.in at least one day in advance to receive the link and instructions.

The Venue

inlingua International School of Languages,

N-12, first floor,

South Extension - Part I

It is an open meeting - anyone interested in Ayn Rand's ideas is welcome. You may call Vikram on 9810028900 for directions. If you're planning to attend, it would be helpful if you let us know through the comments column below or by sending an email to vbajaj@aynrand.in .