Mimpy Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 (edited) Interestingly, today I read two articles within an hour that misrepresented Ayn Rand and Objectivism. It is apparently easier to not really delve into Objectivism and understand it but to instead misconstrue Rand's ideas. The first is a book review I found in the latest issue of Fortune magazine. The review was for Radicals for Capitalism by Brian Doherty (an editor of Reason magazine). I can't find the article online, so I'll just summarize it. It was titled "Geniuses, Idealists, and Nuts." The author doesn't really review the book but mostly expresses his own thoughts on libertarianism and capitalism. I will summarize the parts that included Ayn Rand: There are five central figures in Doherty's epically populated and intellectually rigorous narrative...and of course that cranky old loon Ayn Rand. Who among us wasn't Rand-whammied at 16 or 17, when we were infected by the sort of intellectual Scientology that a reading of The Fountainhead can induce? (My consequent denunciations of charity, generosity, and shared responsibility ran their course in about a month; 35 years later my son broke his own Randian fever in just two weeks.) Doherty explains the seductive appeal of Rand's thinking exceptionally well, but he does not neglect the monstrous personality that by her death in 1982 had chased away almost all her old friends and allies (An exception: this economist guy named Greenspan.) Rand may have been an inspirtation, but to the degree that libertarian thinking has advanced (and Doherty, while a believer, isn't sure that it has), it has been due to those few- very few- who connect thought to action. I'm 17...I wonder if I will automatically despise Objectivism when I turn 18 in October. The second article is this one: Warning: Your Teenager May Be Reading Ayn Rand An excerpt: Parents, be way of what your kids are reading. No, I'm not talking about pornography or Ann Coulter-actually, that would be pretty much the same thing, wouldn' it-I'm talking Ayn Rand. If you find your kids reading the works of this delusional author, by all means treat it as if it were a handbook on how to make a bomb or join Scientology. Ayn Rand's books offer empty promises of how something that has come to be known as ethical egoism will make the world a better place. Now as far as I recall from my last ethics class, Nietzsche was an advocate of ethical egoism. I've never read a credible text about Objectivism referring to Rand's ethics as that (which would make sense since Rand was opposed to Nietzsche's ethics). Ethical egoism (as defined in my notes from last summer) is a "theory that we should pursue only our self-interest. It would be morally wrong to pursue altruism for the sake of others." It does not say anything, however, about acting rationally. When we were discussing ethical egoism in my ethics class, my (Kantian) professor mentioned Ayn Rand and how her ideas were very similar to Nietzsche's. If a supposed academic can be so easily confused, then I could understand how others could be even more easily unsure. But it's no secret that Rand openly denounced Nietzsche's ethics. A brief understanding of Objectivism would make that pretty clear. Both pieces mention Objectivism as silly and dangerous as Scientology. I am interested in reading Doherty's book, however. Radicals for Capitalism Edited March 16, 2007 by Mimpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 It's probably only a matter of time when a few people who are more coherent than the second critic will sit up and object to Ayn Rand's books being used in schools. Or, maybe I'm being too optimistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Little Posted March 16, 2007 Report Share Posted March 16, 2007 It's probably only a matter of time when a few people who are more coherent than the second critic will sit up and object to Ayn Rand's books being used in schools. Or, maybe I'm being too optimistic. If they have something to object to, that would be a step in the right direction. I was never exposed to her books when I was in school. I had to find them on my own (on the advice of my parents, actually, even though they were welfare statists), and that didn't happen until after college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 The second article has an obvious lack of credibility with an advertisement directly above it claiming "Sign up and publish now!" Not to mention the author didn't spend much time editing the article, as it has a mistake in the first sentence that spell check wouldn't catch. If I am correct, the word "way" should be "wary." I wouldn't be too worried about this article swaying anyone of even a mildly rational mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 I wouldn't be too worried about this article swaying anyone of even a mildly rational mind.Too bad then. I was sort of hoping that teenagers would soon be hiding Rand underneath their mattresses... that's when we'll know it's unstoppable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaight Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 If they have something to object to, that would be a step in the right direction. I was never exposed to her books when I was in school. I had to find them on my own (on the advice of my parents, actually, even though they were welfare statists), and that didn't happen until after college. I assume you are unaware of the Ayn Rand Institute's "Free Books for Teachers" program? ARI has been offering free classroom sets of Anthem and The Fountainhead to teachers for five or six years now, along with teacher support materials, on the sole condition that the books be taught. Their explicit goal is to get Ayn Rand established as a standard part of the high school literature curriculum. My impression is that the program has been quite successful, distributing over 700,000 copies over the past five years. ARI also runs annual essay contests; their contest on The Fountainhead is the largest annual high school essay contest in the country, now pulling in (as I recall) over 20,000 entries per year. Ayn Rand does have a measurable presence in high schools. It's small, but increasing, and there are well-thought-out and systematic efforts underway to continue and accelerate that growth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capitalism Forever Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 I'm 17...I wonder if I will automatically despise Objectivism when I turn 18 in October. That depends on how "sophisticated" you are. I first read a quotation from Ayn Rand when I was 21; now I'm 29 and I haven't even begun showing signs of "growing up." Apparently I'm very un-sophisticated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khaight Posted March 17, 2007 Report Share Posted March 17, 2007 That depends on how "sophisticated" you are. I first read a quotation from Ayn Rand when I was 21; now I'm 29 and I haven't even begun showing signs of "growing up." Apparently I'm very un-sophisticated... I first encountered Ayn Rand when I was 16; now I'm 36. Twenty years and still going. If you're un-sophisticated, I must be a complete idiot. Happy and successful, but still a complete idiot. Oh well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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