Are the Progressives Really Randians?

We know that the Progressive mantra includes a very heavy dose of "It's GOOD for You!"

Therefore, e.g., you MUST wear seat-belts, MUST stop drinking over-sugared soda pop, MUST use flourescent bulbs, .....etc.

You get the picture: do it our way and your life will be extended.

Ayn Rand would be fine with that.

An individual belongs to himself as an individual. He does not belong, in any measure, to God or to society. A corollary of Rand's basic premise is that "altruism," or the sacrifice of one's only reality – one's individuality – for a reality other than the self, is necessarily self-destructive and therefore immoral. This is why she can say that "altruism holds death as its ultimate goal and standard of value." On the other hand, individualism, cultivated through the "virtue of selfishness," is the only path to life. "Life," she insists, "can be kept in existence only by a constant process of self-sustaining action." Man's destiny is to be a "self-made soul."

And yes, it makes perfect sense. At the core of Progressive and Randian philosophy is a denial of the Judaeo-Christian tradition--specifically, the Fall of Man. Rand is an atheist, but that makes no difference. Deny the Fall and there's no Redemption; deny Redemption's 'eternal life' component and all you're left with is here-and-now.

There, the Progressives and Randians are on the same ground.

HT: Leonardi