Ayn Rand: Difference between revisions

The'''Ayn Rand''' is the creator of [[Objectivism]], whose philosophy is expressed in her fiction --— especially ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' and ''[[Atlas Shrugged]].'' She also wrote the screenplay for the film of ''[[The Fountainhead]].''

Born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Али́са Зино́вьевна Розенба́ум) in Russia. She left it after it had turned communist but before Stalin took over, and she was very much anti-communist. She took it much further than most people, though.

She was already coming up with Objectivism even when her early works, ''We the Living'' and ''[[Anthem]]'', were written. But ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' was her first big success (due to word of mouth rather than advertising).

Ayn Rand helped keep American libertarianism in general alive after the 1930s. Objectivism, while not the same thing as libertarianism (Objectivism is a full philosophy whereas libertarianism is a specific political ideology), is in some ways one of its parent ideologies, though more extreme in some regards --— it is against not just communism and socialism, but also altruism (Auguste Comte's definition of 'altruism,' ''not'' the commonly-used definition) in general, which it feels keeps people dependent on others and unable to take care of themselves. As for the Libertarian Party itself, though, Rand denounced them as the "hippies of the right".

Recently, her books have begun to show up on reading lists for some political philosophy courses, and the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies was established. Think-tanks founded by Objectivism's proponents, such as [https://web.archive.org/web/20131114113444/http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index&cvridirect=true the Ayn Rand Institute] and [http://www.objectivistcenter.org/ The Atlas Society], also promote Objectivist ideas. Penn State Press's ''Rereading The Canon'' series, which was a collection of volumes of Feminist interpretations of specific philosophers, included a book on Ayn Rand. Rand-influenced academics like Tara Smith, David Kelley and Chris Matthew Sciabarra have published many works expanding upon Objectivism and detailing the implications of her ideas.

Unfortunately, Rand as a figure generates intense feelings of either seething hatred or ([http://www.amazon.com/Ayn-Rand-Cult-Jeff-Walker/dp/0812693906 some] [http://www.2think.org/02_2_she.shtml say]) cultish adoration and as such debates over the content of her ideas have a general tendency to spill over into debates about her as a person. For instance, several Rand critics question [http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/60120/ her ability to stay true to her own principles]. She may have also received [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-ford/ayn-rand-and-the-vip-dipe_b_792184.html government aid] after getting lung cancer, but Rand herself argued that if someone had paid taxes to fund these systems then they "have a clear right to any refund of their own money" (see [http://www.reason.com/blog/2011/01/30/rand-on-the-dole here]). These aspects of Rand's character have been criticized by several Objectivists. While Rand's personal eccentricities do not necessarily prove anything about the validity or invalidity of her philosophy, Rand did [https://web.archive.org/web/20130405154214/http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/60120/index2.html once] point to herself as proof that her philosophy could work in the real world.

Some Americans are finding her writings especially evocative in the current economic climate (circa early 2009). Her sales are on the rise and commentators have noted it. Mind you, the sales of Karl Marx's works are also on the rise. There could be other [[BioshockBioShock (series)|reasons]] as well. Her pen name is allegedly a contraction of her birth name: "''Рзнбаум''" (Cyrillic for ''Rznbaum'') resembles "Randayn" when handwritten. Her name is pronounced like the German 'Ein' - rhymes with "mine", though some online detractors use the mnemonic "[[Godwin's Law|Ein Reich, Ein Volk, Ayn Rand]]". Annoying objectivists by consistently, repeatedly pronouncing it as if it were merely a [[My Nayme Is|creative spelling]] of "Ann" can [[Berserk Button|also be fun]].

Unfortunately, given the polarizing nature of Rand's work, this page can be caught up in an [[Edit War]] from time to time. To make it clear, this page is NOT about [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Like|what your evaluation of Rand, her works or her ideas is]]. Any contributions should observe the [[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgement]].

The above is especially true for Rand's later writing. Comparison of her three novels could indicate a clear deterioration in the quality of characters representing the opposite ideology. Her first novel, "We, The Living" is very harsh on Communism as an ideology and on the Soviet regime as a regime, but it has a major character, Andrei Taganov, who is a Communist, senior member of the Party, and who is very much a Good Guy: heroic, idealistic, generous, in fact a [[Knight in Shining Armour]] and [[Bodyguard Crush|his lady's bodyguard]] - he is deeply in love with the book's female protagonist who returns his love quite a bit and is always torn between him and the other man in her life who is anti-Communist (and Rand admitted in the forward to the book that this character to a considerable degree represents herself!). In her second book, "''[[The Fountainhead]]''", the character who represents Roosevelt's New Deal, Ellsworth Toohey, is an unquestioned Bad Guy, a Man You [[Love to Hate]] - but he is a brilliant [[Chessmaster]], always spinning webs of very clever and complicated Conspiracy, in short a [[Worthy Opponent]] with whom the female protagonist has (at least in the early parts of the book) a complicated Love Hate Relationship. There is also Peter Keating, who's basically a sympathetic [[Anti-Villain]] with an equally complicated relationship with the main hero, Howard Roark. In ''"[[Atlas Shrugged]]"'' - which Rand herself considered her best, but not everybody agrees - there is nothing of the kind. All characters representing the opposing political and social point of view are miserable, disgusting nothings, who never do or say a single thing deserving of the reader's appreciation.

=== {{examples|Works and Creators influenced by Rand: ===}}

* The Ferengi from ''[[Star Trek]]'' are often considered [[Space Jews|exaggerations of Jewish stereotypes]], but it would be more fair to consider them caricatures of Objectivist philosophy

* The philosophy of Objectivism is a strong theme in the FPS ''[[BioshockBioShock (series)]]'' and its success obviously gave those views a fair bit of exposure. Fan opinion is divided on whether the game's setting is [https://web.archive.org/web/20121218232826/http://www.feministgamers.com/?p=296 meant to showcase the philosophy's flaws], or whether it's meant to show Rapture as an Objectivist utopia destroyed by collectivist villains (parasites, as Rand would call them) and hypocrisy on the part of Andrew Ryan; [[Word of God]] says the game's ''real'' message is that [[Humans Are Flawed]] and Extremism is Bad, allowing the developers to [[Dodge the Bullet|sidestep]] the pro-Rand/anti-Rand [[Flame War]].

* [[Left 4 Dead|Francis]] [[Memetic Mutation|hates her.]] Robotic doubles available for sale [https://web.archive.org/web/20131013040617/http://www.villainsource.com/misc.html there].

[[Category:CreatorScreenwriters]]