Ayn Rand a Soviet Plant?

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An agent of influence is an agent of some stature who uses his or her position to influence public opinion or decision making to produce results beneficial to the country whose intelligence service operates the agent. Agents of influence are often the most difficult agents to detect, as there is seldom material evidence that connects them with a foreign power, but they can be among the most effective means of influencing foreign opinion and actions as they hold considerable credibility among the target audience. Most commonly they serve the interests of a foreign power in one of three ways: either as a controlled agent directly recruited and controlled by a foreign power; as a “trusted contact” that consciously collaborates to advance foreign interests but are not directly recruited or controlled by a foreign power; or as a “useful idiot” that is completely unaware of how their actions further the interests of a foreign power.

The term “agent of influence” is often used to describe both individuals and organizations engaged in influence operations. Individuals engaged in this type of influence operation may serve in the fields of journalism, government, art, labor, academia, or a number of other professional fields. Cultural opinion makers, nationalists, and religious leaders have also been targeted to serve as individual agents of influence.

The primary characteristic that distinguishes agents of influence from spies is the lack of absolute control exercised by the foreign power on an agent of influence. According to Angelo Codevilla, the work of an agent of influence “can be far more valuable, subtle, and dangerous than that of a mere spy.” As witnessed in the Cold War through “fellow travelers,” the best agents of influence were those whose interests paralleled that of the aggressor’s and needed little if any coordination. A foreign power can rarely exercise complete control over an agent of influence, as these agents possess their own preferences and motivations; the most proven way to cultivate the desired results is for a foreign power to chose and develop an agent of influence whose interests already align with their own.

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After the Russian Revolution, universities were opened to women, including Jews, allowing Rand to be in the first group of women to enroll at Petrograd State University, where she studied in the department of social pedagogy, majoring in history.

In the fall of 1925, Rand was granted a visa to visit America.

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Active Measures (Russian: Активные мероприятия) were a form of political warfare conducted by the Soviet security services (Cheka, OGPU, NKVD, KGB) to influence the course of world events, "in addition to collecting intelligence and producing politically correct assessment of it". Active measures ranged "from media manipulations to special actions involving various degrees of violence". They were used both abroad and domestically. They included disinformation, propaganda, counterfeiting official documents, assassinations, and political repression, such as penetration of churches, and persecution of political dissidents.

Active measures included the establishment and support of international front organizations (e.g. the World Peace Council); foreign communist, socialist and opposition parties; wars of national liberation in the Third World; and underground, revolutionary, insurgency, criminal, and terrorist groups. The intelligence agencies of Eastern Bloc and other communist states also contributed in the past to the program, providing operatives and intelligence for assassinations and other types of covert operations.

Retired KGB Maj. Gen. Oleg Kalugin described active measures as "the heart and soul of Soviet intelligence": "Not intelligence collection, but subversion: active measures to weaken the West, to drive wedges in the Western community alliances of all sorts, particularly NATO, to sow discord among allies, to weaken the United States in the eyes of the people of Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and thus to prepare ground in case the war really occurs."

Active measures was a system of special courses taught in the Andropov Institute of KGB situated at SVR headquarters in Yasenevo, near Moscow. The head of "active measures department" was Yuri Modin, former controller of the Cambridge Five spy ring.

GRU alone spent more than $1 billion for propaganda and peace movements against Vietnam War, which was a "hugely successful campaign and well worth the cost", according to the allegations of GRU defector Stanislav Lunev. He claimed that "the GRU and the KGB helped to fund just about every antiwar movement and organization in America and abroad".

According to Oleg Kalugin, "the Soviet intelligence was really unparalleled. ... The KGB programs -- which would run all sorts of congresses, peace congresses, youth congresses, festivals, women's movements, trade union movements, campaigns against U.S. missiles in Europe, campaigns against neutron weapons, allegations that AIDS... was invented by the CIA... all sorts of forgeries and faked material -- [were] targeted at politicians, the academic community, at the public at large."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_measures

What utter dishonest rubbish. There's nothing more to be said about your nasty little innuendos, and character smears. Ugh.

If one has lived in a two dimensional cartoon world for the entirety of their lives then I suppose this notion would seem too complicated, and thus unbelievable, but for those of us who live in the real world this supposition is not much of a strain on our credulity. The fact remains that the laissez faire neo-liberalization made popular by Ayn Rand is ultimately what led to the collapse of the U.S. economy, in this case we do have the benefit of hindsight, so the theory is a little more than speculative.


Dialectical manipulation is a reality in our world, I understand that some are either too naive or too unwilling to identify it, nevertheless, it is practiced and it has been remarkably successful and effective.

Karl Marx and Frederich Engels agree, Ayn Rand has been a true "People's" champion:

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Why Karl Marx Advocated Free Trade (Capitalism)

Peter Myers, Canberra, Australia, August 2, 2001; update January 7, 2003. My comments are shown {thus}. Write to me at contact.html.

http://mailstar.net/classwar.html.

Karl Marx advocated Free Trade, i.e. Capitalism, because (a) whereas Protection builds up the nation-state, Free Trade breaks it down, as a prelude to the creation of a world-state by the Capitalists (b) Free Trade breaks down traditional culture, as a prelude to the creation of a world culture (c) Free Trade exacerbates class warfare, and through this the Capitalists will lose control of the world-state - they will be defeated by the impoverished classes, with the help of their backers in the higher classes.

Free Trade -> Misery -> Social Revolution.

(1) Karl Marx on Free Trade (2) Frederick Engels on Free Trade (3) Trotskyists for Free Trade

(1) Karl Marx on Free Trade

Karl Marx's major statement about Free Trade was an address delivered to the Democratic association of Brussels, Belgium, on January 9, 1848, around the same time as he wrote the Communist Manifesto.

Karl Marx & Frederick Engels, Collected Works, Volume 6, Lawrence & Wishart, London 1976:

{p. 450} Karl Marx

SPEECH ON THE QUESTION OF FREE TRADE
DELIVERED TO THE DEMOCRATIC ASSOCIATION OF BRUSSELS
AT ITS PIBLIC MEETING OF JANUARY 9, 1848


"But, generally speaking, the Protective system in these days is conservative, while the Free Trade system works destructively. It breaks up old nationalities and carries antagonism of proletariat and bourgeoisie to the uttermost point. In a word, the Free Trade system hastens the Social Revolution. In this revolutionary sense alone, gentlemen, I am in favor of Free Trade. " - Karl Marx

So Marx and Engels clearly knew that Free Trade would worsen the lot of the lower classes, but advocated it anyway, as a means to achieving a World State. They were prepared to endorse an evil means, to achieve what they saw as a worthy end.

The fact that this strategy was explicitly formulated and publicly expounded by Karl Marx 57 years before the birth of Ayn Rand, and that Ayn Rand was among the elite of the thoroughly 'edukated' Soviet citizenry lends enormous credence to the notion that Rand was in fact a Soviet plant, sent forth to American shores as an agent of "actice measures" to promote and encourage the very same economic philosophy and political policies that Marx explicitly said would eventually and inevitably lead to the destruction of capitalism and the establishment a world communist state.

ScoutsHonor wrote:

What utter dishonest rubbish. There's nothing more to be said about your nasty little innuendos, and character smears. Ugh.

mike lewis wrote:

If one has lived in a two dimensional cartoon world for the entirety of their lives then I suppose this notion would seem too complicated, and thus unbelievable, but for those of us who live in the real world this supposition is not much of a strain on our credulity. The fact remains that the laissez faire neo-liberalization made popular by Ayn Rand is ultimately what led to the collapse of the U.S. economy, in this case we do have the benefit of hindsight, so the theory is a little more than speculative.


Dialectical manipulation is a reality in our world, I understand that some are either too naive or too unwilling to identify it, nevertheless, it is practiced and it has been remarkably successful and effective.

Knock this shit off. I will not let this place become a hostile battleground of mud slinging.

I admin I've never really been that interested in Rand, and don't understand her or what she was. Perhaps that's why I've pretty much stayed-away from these threads about her. But I am curious, and do want to read what's been said. So, can we keep this clean, please!

By the way, Mike, where did those first few quotes come from in the OP? Do you still have links?

mike lewis wrote:

Karl Marx advocated Free Trade, i.e. Capitalism, because (a) whereas Protection builds up the nation-state, Free Trade breaks it down, as a prelude to the creation of a world-state by the Capitalists (b) Free Trade breaks down traditional culture, as a prelude to the creation of a world culture (c) Free Trade exacerbates class warfare, and through this the Capitalists will lose control of the world-state - they will be defeated by the impoverished classes, with the help of their backers in the higher classes.
.

I don't understand how the "Capitalists will lose control of the world-state" via global free trade. Isn't Global Free Trade meant to empower the global capitalists? Perhaps my confusion is over terminology... who is he referring to when he talks of "Capitalisits"?

By the way, Sir Goldsmith went on an active campaign in the USA before GATT was passed by the US Senate. Somewhere I've posted audio of Goldsmith's Senate testimony as well as video of a Charlie Rose interview he did. It was all clearly laid-out what GATT would do to us, but I think the Clinton-Lewinsky affair pretty much blotted-out any discussion at the time.

mike lewis wrote:

Karl Marx and Frederich Engels agree, Ayn Rand has been a true "People's" champion:

Just so you know, my life does Not revolve around Ayn Rand, her life or her thoughts --how come YOURS does? Could you please spare me the tediousness of reading your unceasing attacks, which I have very little desire to, or interest in, defending. THANKS!

C1 wrote:

Mike, where did those first few quotes come from in the OP? Do you still have links?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_of_influence

http://intellit.muskingum.edu/russia_folder/pcw_era/sect_16a.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_measures

http://intellit.muskingum.edu/russia_folder/pcw_era/sect_03.htm

C1 wrote:

mike lewis wrote:

Karl Marx advocated Free Trade, i.e. Capitalism, because (a) whereas Protection builds up the nation-state, Free Trade breaks it down, as a prelude to the creation of a world-state by the Capitalists (b) Free Trade breaks down traditional culture, as a prelude to the creation of a world culture (c) Free Trade exacerbates class warfare, and through this the Capitalists will lose control of the world-state - they will be defeated by the impoverished classes, with the help of their backers in the higher classes.
.

I don't understand how the "Capitalists will lose control of the world-state" via global free trade. Isn't Global Free Trade meant to empower the global capitalists? Perhaps my confusion is over terminology... who is he referring to when he talks of "Capitalisits"?

He is referring to the bourgeoisie(the wealthy stratum of the middle class that originated during the latter part of the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500))

In Marxist philosophy, the term “bourgeoisie” denotes the social class who owns the means of production, and whose societal concerns are the value of property and the preservation of capital, in order to ensure the perdurance of their economic supremacy in society.

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they will be defeated by the impoverished classes, with the help of their backers in the higher classes.

I would like to know who these "backers in the higher classes" are. Who in the higher classes has an interest in backing the poor in defeating the capitalists ?

ScoutsHonor wrote:

mike lewis wrote:

Karl Marx and Frederich Engels agree, Ayn Rand has been a true "People's" champion:

Just so you know, my life does Not revolve around Ayn Rand, her life or her thoughts --how come YOURS does? Could you please spare me the tediousness of reading your unceasing attacks, which I have very little desire to, or interest in, defending. THANKS!

Do you think that this is about you? How ludicrous. I am not attacking you, you are just delusional. What I am doing is criticizing Ayn Rand and Objectivism, I am doing this because it is an abominable ideology that has already wrought massive devastation on civilization, my life doesn't revolve around it, but I do take considerable pains in addressing the Objectivist derangement because I care about society and I care about people.

Listen STUPID, if you care so much about people (pardon me while I laugh hysterically - you are one of the rudest, most insulting individuals that's EVER POSTED on the Internet) see if you can actually CONTRIBUTE something other than your ENDLESS cut& paste WIKIPEDIA CRAP -- MORON. Furthermore you are a LIAR......you don't give a F**k about society, you are a disgusting Nihilist.

Well, goodbye-forever, Hopefully!

Okay, I'm going to lock this thread.

I don't think anyone here wants this place to become the kind of forum where children are allowed to run wild. I think everyone here understands that that would simply ruin this place, and that it would soon become just like all the other knucklehead-forums out there.

So, grow up, and play like adults here!