Two major new books on Ayn Rand testify to the continuing impact of America's most influential novelist of ideas. Sales of Rand's books have been impressive for 66 years -- more than 25 million -- and have recently surged, perhaps in response to the dramatic increase in government intrusion into the free market. Rand remains a major influence on both libertarian and conservative communities, and these two new studies illustrate the growing scholarly interest in her impact.
Jennifer Burns, a professor of history at the University of Virginia, looks at the development of Rand's ideas and her alliances -- and clashes -- with other intellectual and political figures. New York writer Anne Heller draws on original research in Russia, dozens of interviews with Rand's relatives and acquaintances, and previously unexamined archives to develop the first complete and independent biography.
Bio
David Boaz
Cato's executive vice president David Boaz has played a key role in the development of the Cato Institute and the libertarian movement. He is a provocative commentator and a leading authority on domestic issues such as education choice, drug legalization, the growth of government, and the rise of libertarianism.
He is the author of Libertarianism: A Primer, described by the Los Angeles Times as "a well-researched manifesto of libertarian ideas," the editor of The Libertarian Reader, and coeditor of the Cato Handbook on Policy.
Boaz is the former editor of New Guard magazine and was executive director of the Council for a Competitive Economy prior to joining Cato in 1981. His articles have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, National Review, and Slate.
He is a frequent guest on national television and radio shows, and has appeared on ABC's "Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher", CNN's "Crossfire", NPR's "Talk of the Nation" and "All Things Considered", "John McLaughlin's One on One", Fox News Channel, BBC, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, and other media.
Jennifer Burns
Jennifer Burns was educated at Harvard College and received her Ph.D. in American History from the University of California, Berkeley. Her new book, Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right, began as her doctoral dissertation. She spent more than eight years working on the book, and was fortunate to be granted access to Rand's personal papers and private diaries for her research.
Professor Burns teaches American history at the University of Virginia, and divides her time between Charlottesville, VA and Menlo Park, CA. Lectures from her introductory course on American history are available at iTunes.berkeley.edu and can be found by searching for History 7b in Social Sciences.
Anne C. Heller
Anne C. Heller is a magazine editor and journalist. She has been the managing editor of The Antioch Review, a fiction editor of Esquire and Redbook, the features editor of Lear's, and the executive editor of the magazine development group at Conde Nast Publications, with a special emphasis on money and finance.
It was Ayn Rand's writing about money that first aroused her interest in the author, who is one of the most passionate defenders of capitalism of all time. Heller has written for a number of national magazines.
(born Feb. 2, 1905, St. Petersburg, Russia—died March 6, 1982, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. writer. She immigrated to the U.S. in 1926 after graduating from the University of Petrograd and worked as a screenwriter in Hollywood. She won a cult following with two best-selling novels presenting her belief that all real achievement comes from individual ability and effort, that laissez-faire capitalism is most congenial to the exercise of talent, and that selfishness is a virtue, altruism a vice. In The Fountainhead (1943), a superior individual transcends traditionalism and conformism. The allegorical Atlas Shrugged (1957) combines science fiction with her political message. She expounded her philosophy, which she called objectivism, in nonfiction works and as editor of two journals and became an icon of radical libertarianism.
Alan Greenspan was only superficially and theoretically Randian. In action and practical terms he was exactly the opposite. He built and oversaw what was essentially a centrally planned monetary policy framework (to the extent that it is now very difficult, in our context, to see any alternative). It was not always thus. Monetary policy, one of the most powerful and (for a libertarian) dangerously concentrated policy levers is still now driven by the opinions of one or a few people who attempt to control the (superficially free) real economy. The very name inflation targeting evokes this sense of control but its short term success created worse hubris - the sense that we could use disinflation to will markets ever higher. Mistakes in this domain are a direct cause of too much concentration of economic decision-making power and are objectively the cause of what has created capitalism's latest crisis (artificially low real interest and savings rates). This is all directly analogous to Rand's view of the ill's of big government, just in a slightly different context than that which she had explicitly envisaged and wrote about (or maybe that's just because I haven't read enough).
Does she offer a way out? Unfortunately yes. Government will become even bigger and we will eventually blow the system up properly. However, this will probably take the form of an economic depression and maybe a few wars before we enter another age of endeavour. It would have been nice to think that we had our crisis last year but the last six months suggest that we are not yet ready to pull up our sleeves - we have asked politicians to bolster our ill-gotten (windfall) gains from the post '82 disinflationary period with desperate monetary policy and then government handouts. Only when, as a society, we come to despise and distrust such measures and seek to individually work our way out of this will we things improve in a sustainable manner
Yeah, blame it on consumers. Why were they given loans they couldn't afford in the first place? Ah, because they gate keepers wanted it that way. You guys completely ignore the reality that deregulation over the last thirty years destroyed the economy. Look no further than Phil Gramm.
A quick note on regulation: rules based systems are not ideal. They should be principle-based. Players should comply or explain. Very easy to implement, difficult for law makers to accept.
A long note on Ayn Rand: It is subject to interpretation, but AR's philosophy has really nothing to do with the “free market” and/or “capitalism” per se.
The most profound ideas of AR are that of respecting reality, integrity, merit (respecting individual achievements) and morality and the avoidance of contradictions (you are, however, encouraged to change your mind based on valid “objective” information).
The idea of a free-market and capitalism is having the mental freedom to express ideas, have opinions, the opportunity to resolve problems and try to maximise efficiencies when opportunities arise. Example: If you think somebody makes excessive profit, and you think you can do better, you have the right to try – but if you’re wrong it must be you that pay the price. Regulation will only stifle this process and continue to reward incompetence.
AR had always professed that one must never consume more than one produces and we have a mind to produce ideas and to solve problems. This idea still proves valid since there has been nothing to falsify it.
“Interests” have different meaning to different people. Altruism could have four different meanings to four different people and likewise for selfishness. Helping others is accepted as long as there is a long-term net benefit for both parties. Who wants to live in a sub-standard society and live with ignorance? It's more important which the way you help - are you encouraging idea generation and personal development or redistributing free handouts? Government programs can work, and have worked, but will only function correctly if there is an adequate system that truly adds value and responsibility.
AR’s philosophy isn’t perfect, nothing is in the short term, but it helps to understand how morality and personal development could possibly be sustained, why they are essential and with the exclusion of metaphysics. However I do agree that sometimes the wealthiest or most successful are not always the most able or the most deserving, but life isn’t always fair. However this is how it is when there are governments that punish good decision makers that behaved rationally and impose rule-based systems that cripple society.
The universal problem, therefore, is ignorance. Ignorance should be not be confused with mental limitations or stupidity, but simply defined as ignoring. From extensive literature and rigorous studies, today’s society has been very mentally inflexible and lazy (or distracted) and has tendencies to misuse information, fail to understand problems and take short-sighted decisions mostly on invalid biased opinions, traditions, and/or beliefs. We must first resolve these issues, only then we will be able move on.
I've always greatly admired reason. There's still hope for many elements of Ayn Rand's philosophy and even the Cato Institute...
Of course, they'll have to decide whether they want to further reasoned approaches or become some sort of dogmatic religion... dogmatism has been very profitable especially when supporting concentrated interests.
I hope you'll take a look. And let me know where I've messed up!
Capitalism isn't "right wing". That's the point. It's where at least two people choose to trade (ideally) without price fixing and being cajoled, or as Thomas Sowell explains it, without having to meet the terms and agreement of a third boisterous party in the transaction, known as government. Rand was not 'on the right', and she was no more a fan of conservatism than she was a fan of the Libertarian party itself. She was an intransigent individualist, which may reflect the views of our nations "framers", but hardly fits the model of the neo-right or the neo-fascist left.
The economic collapse was caused by consumers buying mortgages they couldn't afford and the housing collapse. Because the government bailed the banks and consumers out, they will just do it again. The banks knew the government would do it. The government bailed out Detroit too so, as a result, they can keep making the same mistakes with no penalty. The US government helped build the car industry in Germany and Japan after the war, which has most contributed to the collapse of the US car industry.
Regulation ensures that only the very rich that can afford to deal with the regulations will prevail. It provides a nice barrier to entry for new players, thus reduces competition. Obama's health plan will lead to more outsourcing, off-shoring and layoffs. The Internet in the US, which has no regulation, has advanced far faster as a result. The Utilities and Car industry have not advanced at all.
Big governments don't solve problems. They make them worse or, at best, delay their resolution.
What is really funny is Ayn Rand was an ATEIST! However, the ignorant right act like she was not. And yes, her ideas on no regulation have been discredited! Her views on religion have been proven beyond a doubt!
So, she was right about some things and really wrong about others!
member. 
