how objectivism does not relate to glenn gould

[Paige Poe <Viviandarkbloom3@aol.com>]

Dear Zeldah, F-minoreans, Ayn Rand, Glenn Gould, the world, etc.,

The fact that I disagree with Rand politically and philosophically has very
little to do 
> with my thinking she is an inferior novelist, and vice versa, I suppose. I
> have read Rand and didn't care for her work, stylistically or
> thematically--I apologize for all the adverbs--but I never once called
> anything "useless." 
 To me, it seems as though Rand
was--justifiably--traumatized and angered by being upper-class during the
1917 revolution, and simply took Orwell and the theories of existentialism
and put her own selfish, heroism-driven spin on it. Pardon me for not writing
a thesis paper as an initial response, and just having a random and
completely personal opinion. I understand that many people feel very strongly
about Rand and objectivism, as you do, and as I do, but in opposite ways. 

But this isn't about me or Ayn Rand--it's about Gould. I just don't feel that
Gould or a person like him who left his estate to charity, who had such a
fascination with Eastern thought and Zen Buddhism, would have been at all
attracted to the philosophy propagated by someone who wrote The Virtue of
Selfishness. Gould hated competition, and Rand's emphasis on
survival--intellectual or physical--would show that she would thrive on
competition. I can see how there's a vague connection between Rand's idea of
a struggle between people who create and people who "devour" this creativity,
I believe she said, and Gould's ideas about the hierarchical implications of
"artist" and "audience," but I don't think they mean the same things. While
Gould was saying the distinctions created a sort of class struggle, Rand
seems to be saying that those who do create are rightfully of a higher class
than those who do not.
My argument will never be sufficient because I'm not objective, in the true
sense of the word; I can't stand apart from it. A few things to throw out:

'"Gould claimed to be an avowed socialist [although he was a practical
exponent of the stock market] and would spend many hours of conversation
berating the capitalist system,'  wrote Andrew Kazdin, after working closely
with him for fifteen years."
--from Ostwald's book, though the footnote says it's also in Kazdin's book, 
Glenn Gould at Work, which I, sadly, have yet to read.  
A lot of the things in Gould's self-interview seem to suggest socialist
tendencies, also--the town where all the houses are battleship-grey, which
Gould deems a moral issue rather than an aesthetic one. Also, the books in 
Gould's library--which is a very limited selection, I'm sure, but a good
website--don't seem, to me, to complement Objectivism, Rand, etc. Here is a
good article from a great magazine, Lingua Franca, but it may put off some
staunch Rand supporters.

"'Convictions' are more dangerous enemies of truth than 'lies.'" -- Nietzsche

As far as a question for Glenn is concerned, while I doubt I'd be able to get
one into the conversation, and I'd really just be happy to talk with him, I
can't really think of a serious question. I'd probably ask him if he'd like
some scrambled eggs.

paige.