Student Debt Relief and Basic Beliefs

 

Perhaps you've been following the heated debates between those who are applauding Student Loan Forgiveness plan and those who are condemning it.

I'm a philosopher, and I am always fascinated by these exchanges. One's basic beliefs determine what is considered truth and "clear thinking.' But those basic beliefs qua properly basic are not themselves justifiable. They are--to be honest-- a matter of faith. They are what a person takes to be self-evidently true.

So often basic beliefs boils down to whether one thinks what is real is only individuals, or persons in community. And so often, in these economic debates, those who claim to be "clear-thinking" economists do not realize how deeply their views mirror the basic beliefs of Objectivism. 

In her non-fiction, [Ayn] Rand developed a conception of metaphysical realism, rationality, ethical egoism (rational self-interest), individual rights, laissez-faire capitalism, and art, and applied her philosophy to social issues. She wrote polemical, philosophical essays, often in response to questions by fans of Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead; lectured on college campuses; and gave radio and television interviews. In her own words, her philosophy,

"in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute. (Rand 1957 [1992]: Afterword)"

Capitalism, “the unknown ideal”, is for her the only political-economic system compatible with this philosophy because it is the only system based on respect for human beings as ends in themselves. The free-market libertarian political movement, though largely disowned by Rand, drew—and draws—great inspiration from her moral defense of the minimal state, that is, the state whose only raison d’être is protection of individual rights.>https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ayn-rand/

May I remind these folks that Ayn Rand was not a Christian, and did not share Christianity's basic belief that human beings are not individuals, but persons-in-community, made in the image of God. Christianity also teaches that human beings are creatures that are fallen but beloved and redeemed by God. The moral purpose of their lives is to know and love Him, and all he has created; with knowing and loving as their noblest activity, and The Trinity (The way, the truth and the life) as their only absolute.