"The man at the top of the intellectual pyramid contributes the most to all those below him, but gets nothing except his material payment, receiving no intellectual bonus from others to add to the value of his time. The man at the bottom who, left to himself, would starve in his hopeless ineptitude, contributes nothing to those above him, but receives the bonus of all of their brains. Such is the nature of the ‘competition’ between the strong and the weak of the intellect. Such is the pattern of ‘exploitation’ for which you have damned the strong.”
I can think of at least one benefit the 'man at the top" gets in exchange for contributing to society: a stable environment. He doesnt have to worry about waves of looters or food rioters destroying his life because, contrary to what Rand believes, people don't just "starve in (their) hopeless ineptitude" for very long; they tend to react violently if deprived of the necessities of life. In this (and in many other areas), Rand disregards the lessons history has taught us about the over consolidation of power - which is exactly what her principles lead to when applied in the real world.
Sorry to get so off topic (we should be discussing the important issues), but Ayn Rand and her bullshit are push buttons for me.
Oh, and one more thing...
I can think of at least one benefit the 'man at the top" gets in exchange for contributing to society: a stable environment. He doesnt have to worry about waves of looters or food rioters destroying his life because, contrary to what Rand believes, people don't just "starve in (their) hopeless ineptitude" for very long; they tend to react violently if deprived of the necessities of life. In this (and in many other areas), Rand disregards the lessons history has taught us about the over consolidation of power - which is exactly what her principles lead to when applied in the real world.
Sorry to get so off topic (we should be discussing the important issues), but Ayn Rand and her bullshit are push buttons for me.