Ayn Rand

Here's your enemy for this week, the government says. And some gullible Americans click their heels and salute – often without knowing who or even where the enemy of the week is. – Charley Reese (1998)


It was 50 years ago this year that Ayn Rand wrote "Atlas Shrugged". It took her about 11 years, I think, to write Atlas Shrugged. The long speech by John Galt
http://compuball.com/Inquisition/AynRand/galtspeech_pmark_broken.htm took Rand 3 years to write, according to a biography by Barbara Branden.

Rand's first successful book, "The Fountainhead" took 7 years to write and was rejected by 12 publishers before one agreed to publish.

Rand was born in Russia in 1905. As a small girl she witnessed the communist takeover.

In the 70s she was living in NY and invited one of her sisters to come from Russia. Her sister lived in NY for awhile, but, voluntarily went back to Russia. According to Branden, the sister could not stand the disorder of capitalism in New York. She longed for the order provided by the Soviet Union.

Intellectuals and liberals panned Rand's books because her books showed the flaws and dangers of socialism.

Rand was an atheist so her books were not popular with the conservative leaders. William Buckley dismissed her books. Despite her philosophy of small government the conservatives refused to promote her books. Rand was opposed to servitude to the State and to the church. She believed in the individual and what is important to the individual, not to the State or a group.

Throughout history there are examples of group altruism that put the group ahead of the individual. This altruism slows the development of the group. Individual selfishness improves the quality of the individual, therefore improving the quality of the group. Rand did not believe selfishness meant brutish behavior with no respect for others. She thought the individual should be allowed to invent, produce, and trade without the restricitions of taxes, sharing, and regulations by the group.

Rand knew the dangers of groups. Groups form for mutual self protection against stronger predators. As soon as a group realizes that are stronger than their enemies, the group becomes violent and aggressive against other groups.

Rand led a personal life filled with faults. Her interaction with others was different than the characters in her novels. Her philosophical works will continue to cause debate for years to come.

John Galt II