need a sanctuary from collectivist claptrap

[tunk]

Hi kids. So I consider myself a classical liberal and a believer in objective morality and natural law grounded in man's nature, which I think the secondary literature on Ayn Rand shows she provided solid ground for. Almost everyone else on my campus at the University of Toronto is either politically apathetic or a socialist-egalitarian of some kind.

You will not be surprised to hear that the professors don't question the basic premises of collectivism. I remember the first week, we got a lecture on Benjamin Constant where liberalism was presented as this kind of bizarre, dated curiosity in which men of extraordinary naivety dabbled in ages past but which no one could possibly take seriously nowadays. "I'm presenting Constant to you at his best," said my stout prof, "so you can evaluate his arguments for yourself. Of course, I'm gonna turn around and debunk everything he ever said." That was the lecture on Marx, the following week. Oddly enough, I never heard him mention anything about debunking Marx (which is not hard: see Bohm-Bawerk).

A questionnaire I had to fill on my first day asked me, "How should university expenses be divided between government and families?" Nobody asks, "Should we have a centrally planned education system or not?" Considering that universities are non-profits who have no economic incentives to pursue cost-cutting measures (and lots of political incentives to avoid them), as well the huge amount of resources government pumps into post-secondary in the form of subsidies and student loans have increased the demand for education beyond the available restricted supply and been the main contributor to increased tuition fees, I think the answer is obvious.

Anyway, I need a break from the immoral, destructive nonsense that's constantly shoved down my throat. Hope to make some friends here.

[Selene]

Max:

Welcome to OL.

What are you majoring in at the University of Toronto?

Adam

[tunk]

Either economics or public policy. (I first thought of doing history but didn't want to end up permanently unemployed. No offense to any history majors lol.)

[studiodekadent]

Economics is probably the best chance of you getting some intellectual sustenance away from collectivism.

Public Policy scholars rarely argue against the employment of public policy in X, Y or Z.

[GALTGULCH8]

Tunk,

Welcome!

you might find it advantageous to explore the Institute For Humane Studies website

http://www.theihs.org

really.

Enjoy!

[Rich Engle]

Well, that sounds sordid and horrible. You either fight, or run--2 choices. If you sit on it, expect to find yourself on the cover of next month's "Prison Bride" magazine (figuratively speaking, that is). Allow me to reinforce that: run, or fight--if you don't bust out a move, THEY WILL EAT YOU.

I tend to nose into fights, but I'm 52 and only a few things scare me. It just depends on how much you value the combat. See, it has something to do with "situational awareness." That's a Bruce Lee thing, sort of. What it means is if you find yourself in a place where you're taking shit, you chose to be there. Even if you didn't know. The trick is to not put yourself in those positions, and that takes a little style. Robert Heinlein said it something like this (I'm trying to paraphrase accurately, but I don't have the book in front of me)-- "Everywhere you go, everything you do is your fault. All of it."

If you think you can take the instructor down on his bad ideas; that whole culture (it is loaded against you, so it appears), then go have it. You will pay even if you win. When I've ended up doing that, it turned out being some of the most joyous benchmarks. Meaning, I would've even paid double or triple (in some form or another) to come out of it that way. But, you can't eat self-righteousness. So, proceed with caution, but do not be afraid to strike. Surf, or die.

Look on the bright side! You might get lucky later--things tend to counterbalance. I went through some crap like that in college years ago, to the point where I transferred to another one. And then I got a lit class where all it was, was this "groovy" kind of patch-coat teacher who turned down the lights and had us listen to fucking ROD MCKUEN RECORDS. "I like birds." Minka. He loved me. I never did anything but work on my own stuff, smoke dope, and never studied for the exams. I got an A-plus in that and the bastard never knew what hit him. He was a nice guy, and he gave me some pretty good ideas here and there, but . . .heh.

Ladies choice, dude: step up.

Finest,

rde

Edited September 29, 2011 by Rich Engle

[caroljane]

I got my BA from U of T. Back then I thought the atmosphere was fairly centrist or right-wing even (this was 1983)

Academically it's a good school, though. Especially for the sciences.

[Samson Corwell]

On 9/29/2011 at 1:58 AM, studiodekadent said:

Economics is probably the best chance of you getting some intellectual sustenance away from collectivism.

Public Policy scholars rarely argue against the employment of public policy in X, Y or Z.

Very strange comment. Economics is supposed to be value-free and laissez-faire constitutes public policy.

[Peter]

Study different economic systems using the scientific method. Enumerate the qualities of each system and then look for the highest GNP associated with each bundle of qualities which supply the greatest prosperity, personal freedom, and happiness. Voila!

ON the contrary side you may find "benevolent," semi socialist countries like Sweden where the people appreciate a minimum wage, a societal safety net, and a smaller "elite" monopolizing the top of the order. Though I have read that Sweden is slowly evolving to a more free society, without Big Brother watching your every move, and I wonder why?