

“So you think that money is the root of all evil?” - erbdex
http://capitalismmagazine.com/2002/08/franciscos-money-speech/

======
ubertaco
This isn't an article, this is just copy-paste from Ayn Rand.

And at that, it's copy-paste of a character in one of her objectivist-utopian
fanfics beating up a strawman based on a misquote of 1 Timothy 6:

> But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into
> the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food
> and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich
> fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires
> that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For _the love_ of money is _a_
> root of _all kinds of evils_. It is through this craving that some have
> wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. > > (1
> Timothy 6:6-10 ESV)

The subject in view there is one of Christian priorities and contentment; for
a Christian, faithful service to God must be held of much greater value than
wealth, and therefore contentment with what God provides is an essential
characteristic of a devout Christian.

It's not "EVERY EVIL ON EARTH COMES FROM MONEY"; indeed, the idea is far
afield of Christianity. In the view of Christianity, every evil on earth comes
from the sinful heart of man, whether or not money is even involved.

Rather, the actual statement -- the one Rand misquoted to distort into an
easier strawman to fight -- is that a wholesale devotion to procurement of
wealth is itself a wrong that leads to many other wrongs.

The really interesting thing, I think, is to see how the _actual_ quote and
its context _does_ apply to Rand's strictly-utilitarian view of others.

------
nefitty
Ayn Rand? Really? There's a reason her "objectivism" isn't discussed in
philosophy courses. It's nonsense conservative rhetoric that has nothing to do
with the academic discipline. John Oliver summed it up nicely:
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8m8cQI4DgM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8m8cQI4DgM)

~~~
maxharris
_There 's a reason her "objectivism" isn't discussed in philosophy courses_

Actually, this isn't true. In the fall of 2010, I took a philosophy course (at
the University of Wisconsin - Madison) for which we had to read _Anthem_ and
_The Fountainhead_.

...

 _conservative rhetoric_

Also, I don't think you have a good grasp of Rand's ideas if you think she was
a _conservative._

Rand was an atheist and pro-choice:

[http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/god.html](http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/god.html)

[http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/abortion.html](http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/abortion.html)

~~~
nefitty
I'm sorry you had to go through that. Those are "superficial" social issues
compared to the deep underlying ideas she had: an obsession with limited
government and unfettered capitalism, individual selfishness and a conscious
denial of empathy for minority and underprivileged classes.

Her overt claim to cut through "contradiction" was itself directly
contradicted by the cult of personality that arose around her. She was
defensive and lashed out many times when people questioned her results and was
just in general a sloppy thinker. She built her "philosophical" edifice to
support her personal political ideology which is simple, deluded and
inexcusable libertarianism at heart.

~~~
maxharris
I don't agree with a single thing you've asserted.

