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Matt Yglesias Considered As The Nietzschean Superman

Astral Codex Ten Podcast

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Excellence Sparks Envy

Ayn Rand's characters serve as a diagnostic tool for assessing readers' responses to excellence and envy. The reaction to these characters reveals deeper psychological tendencies, particularly regarding how individuals perceive and gauge greatness. Successful readers, who admire and use exceptional figures as role models, pass the test. In contrast, those who vehemently oppose or react negatively, reflecting a stance of envy and self-destruction, fail. This indicates a broader societal issue where individuals may harbor resentment toward those who excel, effectively acting as the 'tall poppy police' who seek to keep others down in order to elevate their own self-worth.

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