Objectivism in society

Before I begin: Today’s post is about Ayn Rand. For those offended by Rand or her beliefs, consider yourself warned.

Objectivism—a term which I will use today in reference to the philosophies of Ayn Rand—has never been overly popular, but its influence is surprising, especially considering how radical it is. Today I would like to discuss the reasons fort the unexpected significance of Rand’s beliefs.

Objectivism first began in the mind of Ayn Rand. It was unheard of until she published the now-famous novels Anthem, The Fountainhead, and later Atlas Shrugged. Since then, the philosophy has aroused suspicion, controversy, and criticism. But I’ll come to that later; first I would like to explain how this unusual idea caught on in the first place. The answer is quite simple: networking. Rand spread her philosophy through her books and through Objectivist groups and societies.

The first and perhaps most influential Objectivist group is “the Collective”, which consisted of Rand and her close friends. The group met to discuss Objectivist philosophy and politics. The name is ironic because Objectivism rejects any kind of collectivism; it was something of an inside joke among Rand’s followers. However, quite a few influential people rose out of this group, including Leonard Peikoff and Alan Greenspan. Today, Greenspan controls the Federal Reserve Board and is once of the most important economists in the world. Later on, other Objectivist movements were founded, spreading Rand’s works and her beliefs.

As these groups waxed in influence, critics began to accuse them of cultism. The Collective, in particular, came under fire, since Rand was known for excommunicating people from it. She also made sure she was in control of many of the organizations formed later, and many of her followers showed an uncanny amount of admiration for her.  This caused her critics to insultingly dub her the “guru” of Objectivism and call her followers “Randroids,” a portmanteau word combining “Rand” and “android.” This aspect of Objectivist groups also caused Rand’s critics to accuse her philosophy of being hypocritical, since people were supposedly following it blindly in the name of reason. Rand retorted that no Objectivist followed her blindly, but this is of course hard to prove. 

Objectivism has never been popular with academics and intellectuals. This is mainly because of its anti-intellectual spirit, but it is also because of Rand’s harsh and often unjustified criticism of many prominent philosophers. Though Rand cites John Locke, Aristotle, and Nietzsche as her inspiration, she dismissed David Hume’s is-ought problem with little explanation, and famously called Immanuel Kant “a monster.” Most of her critics hold that Rand was not as familiar with the history of philosophy as she claimed to be, and even some of her friends admitted that she had not read as much philosophy as she claimed to. Also, many of her political views came under fire—her conservative-sounding views on feminism seemed at odds with her pro-choice stance on abortion, and her hatred of taxation appeared to contradict her rejection of anarchy. Also, the left was infuriated at her repeated attacks on fiscal liberalism, while the right was aggravated by her repeated denunciations of Christianity. 

In the public sphere, though, she remains quite popular. Her three works of fiction are all regarded as modern classics, and her ideas are often quoted. Objectivist societies and still up and running, and many colleges in the US have Objectivist clubs or organizations.

Rand’s legacy has been carried on by Leonard Peikoff, her colleague and “intellectual heir”. A former member of the Collective, Peikoff wrote several Objectivist books including the famous “Objectivism: The philosophy of Ayn Rand,” which is a prominent Objectivist manifesto. In 1989, Peikoff denounced David Kelly, an Objectivist who began to deviate from Rand’s original beliefs and “correct her mistakes.” Peikoff insisted that Objectivism is a closed system that only follows Rand’s original ideas. Today, most Objectivist groups back Peikoff, but Kelly went on to found a few groups on his own, including the Atlas Society. Many critics of Objectivism in general pointed out that Peikoff was excommunicating Kelly, revealing how cult-like Objectivism actually is. Regardless, the fact remains that Rand’s legacy is still contested.

So, why are Rand’s ideas still so popular? I am not entirely sure, but I would say it is because they are so controversial and radical and because of her three acclaimed novels. This popularity is enough to keep the Objectivist organizations going, which distribute her works and spread her ideas even further. I doubt we will be forgetting about this controversial philosophy anytime soon, no matter how unpopular it may be.

And now, for your amusement, here is a direct quote from Rand herself about the influence of Kant, as printed in an Objectivist newsletter:

“Suppose you met a twisted, tormented young man and…discovered that he was brought up by a man-hating monster who worked systematically to paralyze his mind, destroy his self-confidence, obliterate his capacity for enjoyment and undercut his every attempt to escape…Western civilization is in that young man's position. The monster is Immanuel Kant.”