Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged a Philosophical and Literary Companion
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Ayn Rand? Ayn Rand Ayn
Who Is Ayn Rand? Ayn Rand Few 20th century intellectuals have been as influential—and controversial— as the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. Her thinking still has a profound impact, particularly on those who come to it through her novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead—with their core messages of individualism, self-worth, and the right to live without the impositions of others. Although ignored or scorned by some academics, traditionalists, pro- gressives, and public intellectuals, her thought remains a major influence on Ayn Rand many of the world’s leading legislators, policy advisers, economists, entre- preneurs, and investors. INTRODUCTION AN Why does Rand’s work remain so influential? Ayn Rand: An Introduction illuminates Rand’s importance, detailing her understanding of reality and human nature, and explores the ongoing fascination with and debates about her conclusions on knowledge, morality, politics, economics, government, AN INTRODUCTION public issues, aesthetics and literature. The book also places these in the context of her life and times, showing how revolutionary they were, and how they have influenced and continue to impact public policy debates. EAMONN BUTLER is director of the Adam Smith Institute, a leading think tank in the UK. He holds degrees in economics and psychology, a PhD in philosophy, and an honorary DLitt. A former winner of the Freedom Medal of Freedom’s Foundation at Valley Forge and the UK National Free Enterprise Award, Eamonn is currently secretary of the Mont Pelerin Society. Butler is the author of many books, including introductions on the pioneering economists Eamonn Butler Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, F. -
2019 Atlas Shrugged Winning Essay
2019 ATLAS SHRUGGED WINNING ESSAY FIRST PLACE Sam Weaver, Sarasota, FL — St. John’s College, Annapolis, Maryland Atlas Shrugged is a story that portrays a dramatic conflict of characters and their values. What is the most significant conflict in the story? Is it the conflict between the creators and the looters? Is it the conflict the creators experience in their own souls? Is it something else? Explain your answer. THE POWER THEY PROVIDE IT: THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE CENTRAL CONFLICT OF ATLAS SHRUGGED First-time readers of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged are likely to notice early on the conflict between two main types of characters: the creators, who work to achieve and produce values, and the looters, who do not produce and instead seek to take values from others. There is a sense in which the clash between these two groups is the essential conflict in the novel: They represent two fundamentally opposing approaches to life. However, the plot structure of Atlas Shrugged is designed to turn most crucially on another conflict: the conflict within souls of the creators, who are faced with the dilemma of deciding how to act in a world heavily populated by looters. By placing this dilemma as the central conflict in the novel, Rand illustrates in dramatic concrete events the implications of her crucial moral principle that evil has only the power the good provides it. The plot structure of Atlas Shrugged is complex, but a single action functions as the prime mover of all the rest: John Galt’s strike of the creators. -
Markets Not Capitalism Explores the Gap Between Radically Freed Markets and the Capitalist-Controlled Markets That Prevail Today
individualist anarchism against bosses, inequality, corporate power, and structural poverty Edited by Gary Chartier & Charles W. Johnson Individualist anarchists believe in mutual exchange, not economic privilege. They believe in freed markets, not capitalism. They defend a distinctive response to the challenges of ending global capitalism and achieving social justice: eliminate the political privileges that prop up capitalists. Massive concentrations of wealth, rigid economic hierarchies, and unsustainable modes of production are not the results of the market form, but of markets deformed and rigged by a network of state-secured controls and privileges to the business class. Markets Not Capitalism explores the gap between radically freed markets and the capitalist-controlled markets that prevail today. It explains how liberating market exchange from state capitalist privilege can abolish structural poverty, help working people take control over the conditions of their labor, and redistribute wealth and social power. Featuring discussions of socialism, capitalism, markets, ownership, labor struggle, grassroots privatization, intellectual property, health care, racism, sexism, and environmental issues, this unique collection brings together classic essays by Cleyre, and such contemporary innovators as Kevin Carson and Roderick Long. It introduces an eye-opening approach to radical social thought, rooted equally in libertarian socialism and market anarchism. “We on the left need a good shake to get us thinking, and these arguments for market anarchism do the job in lively and thoughtful fashion.” – Alexander Cockburn, editor and publisher, Counterpunch “Anarchy is not chaos; nor is it violence. This rich and provocative gathering of essays by anarchists past and present imagines society unburdened by state, markets un-warped by capitalism. -
Libertarian Feminism: Can This Marriage Be Saved? Roderick Long Charles Johnson 27 December 2004
Libertarian Feminism: Can This Marriage Be Saved? Roderick Long Charles Johnson 27 December 2004 Let's start with what this essay will do, and what it will not. We are both convinced of, and this essay will take more or less for granted, that the political traditions of libertarianism and feminism are both in the main correct, insightful, and of the first importance in any struggle to build a just, free, and compassionate society. We do not intend to try to justify the import of either tradition on the other's terms, nor prove the correctness or insightfulness of the non- aggression principle, the libertarian critique of state coercion, the reality and pervasiveness of male violence and discrimination against women, or the feminist critique of patriarchy. Those are important conversations to have, but we won't have them here; they are better found in the foundational works that have already been written within the feminist and libertarian traditions. The aim here is not to set down doctrine or refute heresy; it's to get clear on how to reconcile commitments to both libertarianism and feminism—although in reconciling them we may remove some of the reasons that people have had for resisting libertarian or feminist conclusions. Libertarianism and feminism, when they have encountered each other, have most often taken each other for polar opposites. Many 20th century libertarians have dismissed or attacked feminism—when they have addressed it at all—as just another wing of Left-wing statism; many feminists have dismissed or attacked libertarianism—when they have addressed it at all—as either Angry White Male reaction or an extreme faction of the ideology of the liberal capitalist state. -
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MOLINARI REVIEW Molinari Review 1, No. 2 (Fall 2019) © The Molinari Institute 2019 All content in this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Published by: The Molinari Institute 402 Martin Avenue Auburn, Alabama 36830 U.S.A. ISBN: 978-1-947236-00-4 MOLINARI REVIEW The Molinari Review is a peer-reviewed, open-access, print-on-demand, interdiscipli- nary journal of libertarian research. We publish scholarship, sympathetic or critical, in and/or on the libertarian tradition, broadly understood as including classical liberalism, individualist anarchism, social anarchism, anarcho-capitalism, anarcho- communism, anarcho-syndicalism, anarcha-feminism, panarchism, voluntaryism, mu- tualism, agorism, distributism, bleeding-heart libertarianism, Austrianism, Georgism, public choice, and beyond – essentially, everything from Emma Goldman to Ayn Rand, C. L. R. James to F. A. Hayek, Alexis de Tocqueville to Michel Foucault. (We see exciting affiliations among these strands of the libertarian tradition; but you don’t have to agree with us about that to publish in our pages.) Disciplines in which we seek to publish include philosophy, political science, eco- nomics, history, sociology, psychology, anthropology, theology, ecology, literature, and law. We aim to enhance the visibility of libertarian scholarship, to expand the boundaries of traditional libertarian discussion, and to provide a home for cutting- edge research in the theory and practice of human liberty. INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS Submissions should be sent by email to Roderick T. Long at [email protected] as Word .doc or .docx files, prepared for blind review (i.e. all author information re- moved), and accompanied by an abstract of around 150 words as a guide for referees. -
Labor History Revisionism: a Libertarian Analysis of the Pullman Strike
LABOR HISTORY REVISIONISM: A LIBERTARIAN ANALYSIS OF THE PULLMAN STRIKE Dr Chris Matthew Sciabarra e c n Chris Sciabarra a i l Dr Chris Matthew Sciabarra is the author of the “ Dialectics and Liberty Trilogy” that began l with Marx, Hayek, and Utopia, continued with Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical, and culminates with Total Freedom: Toward a Dialectical Libertarianism. He is also the co-editor with Mimi Reisel Gladstein of Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand. His essays have appeared in such books and journals as Encyclopedia of New York State, Encyclopedia of Ethics, American Writers: A Collection of A Literary Biographies, Philosophical Books, Critical Review, Reason Papers, Historian, The Free Radical, Liberty, The Ludwig von Mises Institute On-Line Magazine, Full Context, Film Score Monthly, New York Daily News, Jazz Times, Billboard, and The Daily Objectivist. He is also a founding co-editor of The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies and 2003 named an Assistant Editor for The Free Radical. He n has been a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Politics at New York University since January 1989. Check out Sciabarra on the Web: www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra. a i Historical Notes No. 46 ISBN 1 85637 586 2 r ISSN 0267-7105 © 2003: Libertarian Alliance & Chris Sciabarra a For Life, Liberty, and Property t The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and not necessarily those of the r Libertarian Alliance, its Committee, its Advisory Suite 35 Council, or its subscribers. 2 Lansdowne Row e Mayfair London Director: Dr Chris R. Tame W1J 6HL b Deputy Director: Brian Micklethwait i Director of Communications: Dr Sean Gabb Telephone: 0870 242 1712 Public Affairs Director: Dr Tim Evans Email: [email protected] L Editorial & Membership Director: Nigel Meek Website: www.libertarian.co.uk Page 1 LIBERTARIAN ALLIANCE LABOR HISTORY REVISIONISM: A LIBERTARIAN ANALYSIS OF THE PULLMAN STRIKE Chris Matthew Sciabarra Preface (2003) by Chris Matthew Sciabarra program. -
Ayn Rand's Philosophy “Objectivism” and Her Idea of “The Ideal Man”
Ayn Rand’s philosophy “Objectivism” and her idea of “the ideal man” in comparison to modern approaches Diplomarbeit Zur Erlangung des Magistergrades An der Kultur- und Gesellschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät Der Universität Salzburg Fachbereich: Anglistik und Amerikanistik Gutachter: Dr. Ralph Poole Eingereicht von: Simone Koch Salzburg: 2018 1 Inhalt Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Objectivism ........................................................................................................................... 6 1.1. Ayn Rand’s novels ........................................................................................................ 7 1.1.1 The Fountainhead (1943) ............................................................................................. 7 1.1.2. Atlas Shrugged (1957) .............................................................................................. 10 1.2. Reality ......................................................................................................................... 12 1.2.1. Reason ....................................................................................................................... 13 1.3. Capitalism – the economic system ............................................................................. -
Article Teaching Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged at the Christian University1
Article Teaching Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged at the Christian University1 Blaine McCormick Baylor University McCormick seeks to help the reader understand “Atlas Shrugged” in a Christian cultural context, contrast the novel’s objectivistic philosophy with that of Christianity, and contrast the business activities seen in the novel with Christian business prescriptions. Abstract novel Atlas Shrugged2 is Ayn Rand is one of the most considered by many to be her successful and influential fiction masterpiece and continues to writers of the 20th century. sell thousands of copies each Her novel Atlas Shrugged is year, more than two decades considered her most important after her death in 1982. Atlas work and is widely read in Shrugged is virtually unique in business circles. This article literature for its positive depiction seeks to help the reader of business leaders and the role of understand Rand’s novel in business in society. Whereas most a Christian cultural context. widely known literary works Rand’s philosophy of objectivism portray business leaders as is contrasted with Christian oppressive, conniving, or hollow teaching, and several business (e.g., John Steinbeck’s The Grapes activities from the novel are of Wrath, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s highlighted and contrasted with The Great Gatsby, or Sinclair traditional Christian business Lewis’ Babbit, respectively), prescriptions. Atlas Shrugged portrays business leaders as heroic beings who are Teaching Atlas Shrugged at the central to the quality of life of Christian University any society. Not surprisingly, Ayn Rand was one of the Rand’s work has been well most influential authors of the received and widely read in 20th century. -
Matt Mackenzie DRAFT 12/06 Exploitation: a Dialectical Anarchist
Matt MacKenzie DRAFT 12/06 Exploitation: A Dialectical Anarchist Perspective In his 1985 paper, “Should Marxists Be Interested in Exploitation?,” John Roemer1 suggests that contemporary Marxists should be less interested in exploitation than has been the case historically. Taking my cue from Roemer, in this paper I shall ask: should libertarians be interested in exploitation? It seems to me that, as a matter of fact, many contemporary libertarians are either relatively uninterested in or suspicious of the concept of exploitation—though the same is not true of 19th and early 20th century libertarians. Of course, it will readily be admitted that the state exploits its citizens, but this will be understood primarily in terms of the apparently more basic concepts of coercion, oppression, and theft. Thus, it might be said, the claim of exploitation adds nothing substantive to the libertarian critique of the state. In addition, it could be argued, there are reasons to be suspicious of claims of exploitation. For, in broader public discourse, the term too often seems to be a stand-in for mere disapproval. And when the term is given more definite content, it often involves assumptions about politics and economics that are unacceptable from a libertarian point of view. Despite these considerations, I will answer the question in the affirmative—libertarians should be interested in exploitation. Furthermore, I will argue that an appropriately comprehensive libertarianism should recognize, 1) that there are both coercive and non-coercive forms of exploitation, 2) that state capitalist societies are pervasively exploitative, and 3) that exploitation deserves an appropriately, though not exclusively, political response. -
Dialectics and Liberty
Dialectics and Liberty BY CHRIS MATTHEW SCIABARRA en years ago the first two books of what has The socialists have also criticized many of the advo- become known as my “Dialectics and Liberty” cates of capitalism for having embraced a dogmatic, ahis- Ttrilogy were published. Those books—Marx, torical social ideal. Marx himself had derided bourgeois Hayek, and Utopia (SUNY Press) and Ayn Rand: The theorists as “Robinsonades”; the bourgeois, said Marx, Russian Radical (Penn State Press)—together with the had put forth an atomistic notion of human liberty that culminating work, Total Freedom:Toward a Dialectical Lib- saw individuals as entirely separate from one another. ertarianism (Penn State Press), constitute a defense of Like “Robinson Crusoe” on a desert island, the bour- dialectical method in the service of a geois individual is unrelated to other libertarian social theory. individuals and unrelated to any social It is odd to find the word “dialec- It is odd to find the or historical context. And, for the tics” conjoined with anything remote- word “dialectics” most part, mainstream neoclassical ly having to do with “libertarianism.” economists agreed with him. Their And this is, perhaps, a result of the conjoined with static conceptions of “perfect” compe- profound socialist influence on con- tition posited a rationalistic model of temporary thought. Say the word anything remotely “Economic Man” in possession of “dialectics” and what might come to having to do with “perfect” knowledge. Such a model mind is the “thesis-antithesis-synthe- had little to do with the dynamics of sis” waltz usually associated with “libertarianism.”And the real world. -
From the Instructor
From the Instructor Nicholas wrote this paper for my WR 150 course that surveys debates surrounding the free market. The second major paper in the course challenges students to contend with two uncompromising visions of the market’s virtues and evils: Karl Marx’s narrative of exploitation and estranged labor in The Communist Manifesto vs. John Galt’s forceful speech at the end of Atlas Shrugged, through which Ayn Rand asserts that competition alone can engender individual autonomy and national pros- perity. As a writer, the young Marx exemplifies many of the lessons that I teach my students. He provides an insightful and consistent framework for analysis—class relations—but does so through an elegant story with clear protagonists, antagonists, and a compelling narrative of historical struggle. Rand consciously inverts aspects of Marx’s narrative, contrasting “men of ability,” personified by Galt himself, with the weaker strata of society who seek shelter from the vicissitudes of struggle. Nicholas demonstrates in this paper his capacity to grasp the core points of contention between Rand and Marx, but also to elucidate the relevance of their grand visions for contemporary political debates in clear, insightful, and often clever prose. Nicholas frequently settled on a theme and argument from the first draft of his papers, and spent subsequent drafts developing those ideas further. He made good use of scholarly sources to substantiate his argument in this paper, especially when demon- strating that Rand, far from being a marginal twentieth-century thinker, has attained a mythical status for the contemporary American Right that is nearly on a par with the cult of Marxism in the scholarly and political movements of the past century. -
Dialectical Objectivism? a Review of Chris Sciabarra's Ayn Rand: the Russian Radical
82 Reason Papers Dialectical Objectivism? A Review of Chris Sciabarra's Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical Roger E. Bissell Few works with the level of scholarship evidenced in historian and political theorist Chris Sciabarra's book about Ayn Rand's philosophy have generated such a visceral, polarized response: scathing hostility and scorn on the one extreme and glowing, enthusiastic praise on the other. While an examination of personalities and events surroundingthe preparation and subsequent reception of this book would be a fascinating study in its own right, the present review will focus instead on the thesis that spawned the controversy. Rand's philosophy of Objectivism was born in the aftermath of her final and most famous novel, Atlas Shrugged, though the spiritual core of its ethos apparently dates back to her adolescence in Russia. That Objectivism champions reality, reason, egoism, individualism, laissez-faire capitalism, and romantic art has been common knowledge to its supporters and enemies alike for several decades. What is new in Sciabarra's thesis, what has set everyone on their ears - with either delight or outrage - is his claim that the methodology by which Rand developed her philosophy is the "dialectic." Although Sciabarra doesn't provide a one-sentence, genus-differentia definition of "dialectic," the description he gives (pp. 14-18) portrays dialectics as a methodological orientation with six basic, interrelated characteristics: (1) holism - a commitment to preserve "the analytical integrity of the whole," to see its essential parts as "distinctions within an organic uni ty... inseparable aspect[s] of a wider totality," which cannot be "fully understood in the absence of the other[sIw.