Similarities Between Asatru and Objectivism February 1, 2007
Posted by asoulsearching in Asatru, Heathenry, Observation, Philosophy, Uncategorized.1 comment so far
I’ve been doing a little research on Asatru and I find it very appealing. It seems to have a very practical take on life and how to live it. I am notably impressed by the belief that each person is responsible for his or her actions and must pay for those actions in some sense. I see an interesting parallel here with Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, at least in regards to the ethics of self interest. I also think that Objectivism has a lot in common with the Nine Noble Virtues:
- Courage
- Truth
- Honor
- Fidelity
- Discipline
- Hospitality
- Industriousness
- Self-Reliance
- Perseverance
Rand summarized her philosophy in the following manner:
If you want this translated into simple language, it would read: 1. “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed” or “Wishing won’t make it so.” 2. “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too.” 3. “Man is an end in himself.” 4. “Give me liberty or give me death.”
I see a lot of overlap. If you read Atlas Shrugged, the ultimate Objectivist parable, I think that you will see the overlap too. The only thing missing between the two philosophies is the belief in gods. That omission is the only thing that really kept me from fully embracing Objectivism. Since I perceive Asatru to have similar ideals and it believes in the spiritual side of life it also has a lot of attraction for me. The only catch is shifting archetypal gears to embrace polytheism. I’ll work through that one in a later post.
A Soul Searching 