Ayn Rand Explained: From Tyranny to Tea Party

241 Pages·2013·1.09 MB·English

by  Ronald E. Merrill

PHILOSOPHY / CURRENT AFFAIRS
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) is unique in human history. Scorned by the established critics,
she wrote brilliant popular novels that have become permanent best-sellers, and founded
a comprehensive philosophical and cultural movement which, decades after her death,
is shaking the foundations of the post–New Deal American political order.
Ayn Rand Explainedgives a comprehensive survey of Rand’s wide-ranging contribu- M Explained
tions: her literary techniques; her espousal and then rejection of Nietzschean philosophy;
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her contradictory attitude to feminism; her dismissal of religious faith; her forays into r
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ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics; the development of her political creed; her l
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influence on—and yet hostility to—both conservatism and libertarianism.
“Ayn Rand is in the news now more than ever—but the media consistently misunderstands
her. Read Ayn Rand Explained for a thorough and clear introduction to her ideas!” From Tyranny to Tea Party
—JIMMY WALES, founder of Wikipedia A
y
“Ayn Rand Explained takes us on an exciting exploration of Rand’s provocative worldview n
and expertly traces its huge contemporary impact on politics, economics, art, and culture.
R
Marsha Familaro Enright provides much new information and probing, in-depth analysis.
A surprising, intriguing take on a controversial writer.” a
n
—CHRIS MATTHEW SCIABARRA, author of Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical
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“I immensely enjoyed reading Ayn Rand Explained. Packed with fascinating information,
E
much of it new, the book is a real page turner—and a reminder of why Rand’s novels are con-
x
tinuously making their way onto best-seller lists.”
p
—VERONIQUE DE RUGY, Senior Research Fellow, the Mercatus Center at
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George Mason University a
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n
The late Ronald E. Merrill, a graduate of MIT and the University of Oregon, was a scientist-
e
entrepreneur who ran his own business in the Los Angeles area. He wrote books on venture
d
capital and sundry articles on science, business, and politics.
Marsha Familaro Enrightis President of the Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute, which provides
innovative seminars for high school and college students around the world. She has published
articles related to Ayn Rand’s ideas in The Daily Caller, Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, Montessori
Leadership, New Individualist, andObjectivity.
$19.95
Ronald E. Merrill
Open Court
Revised and Updated
Chicago and La Salle, Illinois by Marsha Familaro Enright
OPEN
Cover design: Randy A. Martinaitis COURT
Ayn Rand Explained final_Frege Explained 9/28/12 12:12 AM Page a
Acclaim for Ayn Rand Explained
“Ayn Rand is in the news now more than ever—but the media
consistently misunderstands her. Read Ayn Rand Explained for
a thorough and clear introduction to her ideas!”
—JIMMY WALES, founder of Wikipedia
“Ayn Rand Explained takes us on an exciting exploration
of Rand’s provocative worldview and expertly traces its huge
contemporary impact on politics, economics, art, and culture.
Marsha Familaro Enright provides much new information and
probing, in-depth analysis. A surprising, intriguing take on a
controversial writer.”
—CHRIS MATTHEW SCIABARRA, author of Ayn Rand:
The Russian Radical
“I immensely enjoyed reading Ayn Rand Explained. Packed
with fascinating information, much of it new, the book is a
real page turner—and a reminder of why Rand’s novels are
continuously making their way onto best-seller lists.”
—VERONIQUE DE RUGY, Senior Research Fellow,
the Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Ayn Rand Explained final_Frege Explained 9/28/12 12:12 AM Page b
Acclaim for the First Edition
“Very impressive! Merrill has a detailed understanding of
Rand’s philosophy and familiarity with her novels. . . . I don’t
agree with everything he says but his discussion is full of insights
and penetrating points, and I learned a great deal from
reading it.”
—DAVID KELLEY, author of A Life of One’s Own and
The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand
“A fascinating, thoughtful book. . . . a worthy contribution to
the growing body of literature on Ayn Rand and Objectivism.
One need not agree with all of his conclusions to congratulate
Mr. Merrill on the independence of his thinking.”
—BARBARA BRANDEN, author of The Passion of
Ayn Rand
The Power of Ayn Rand Today
“Rand has experienced an extraordinary revival since the finan-
cial crisis, and nothing seems to be stopping her. It is a struggle
for the soul of America, and she is winning.”
—GARY WEISS, Ayn Rand Nation
Ayn Rand Explained final_Frege Explained 9/28/12 12:12 AM Page i
Ayn Rand Explained
Ayn Rand Explained final_Frege Explained 9/28/12 12:12 AM Page ii
IDEAS EXPLAINED™
Daoism Explained, Hans-Georg Moeller
Frege Explained, Joan Weiner
Luhmann Explained, Hans-Georg Moeller
Heidegger Explained, Graham Harman
Atheism Explained, David Ramsay Steele
Sartre Explained, David Detmer
Ockham Explained, Rondo Keele
Rawls Explained, Paul Voice
Phenomenology Explained, David Detmer
Ayn Rand Explained, Ronald E. Merrill,
Marsha Familaro Enright
IN PREPARATION
Deleuze and Guattari Explained, Rohit Dalvi
Ayn Rand Explained final_Frege Explained 9/28/12 12:12 AM Page iii
Ayn Rand Explained
From Tyranny to Tea Party
RONALD E. MERRILL
Revised and Updated by Marsha Familaro Enright
OPEN COURT
Chicago and La Salle, Illinois
Ayn Rand Explained final_Frege Explained 9/28/12 12:12 AM Page iv
Volume 10 in the Ideas Explained™ Series
To order books from Open Court, call toll-free 1-800-815-2280,
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Open Court Publishing Company is a division of Carus Publishing Company.
Copyright ©2013 by Carus Publishing Company
This book is a revised and updated edition of the work published in 1991 as The Ideas
of Ayn Randby Ronald E. Merrill.
First printing 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
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publisher, Open Court Publishing Company, a division of Carus Publishing Company,
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Printed and bound in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Merrill, Ronald E.
Ayn Rand explained : from tyranny to tea party / Ronald E. Merrill ; revised and
updated by Marsha Familaro Enright.
p. cm. — (Ideas explained ; v. 10)
Rev. ed. of: The ideas of Ayn Rand.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-8126-9798-8 (trade paper : alk. paper)
1. Rand, Ayn—Philosophy. 2. Objectivism (Philosophy) I. Enright, Marsha
Familaro, 1951- II. Merrill, Ronald E. Ideas of Ayn Rand. III. Title.
B945.R233M47 2013
191—dc23
2012035490
Ayn Rand Explained final_Frege Explained 9/28/12 12:12 AM Page v
Contents
Preface ix
1. The Controversial Ayn Rand
1
Formidable Influence 3
Political Impact 5
Portraits and Memoirs 6
A Muse for Popular Art 9
The New Atlas Shrugged Wave 11
“In the Name of the Best within Us” 12
Against Relativism and Subjectivism 16
The Virtue of Selfishness 17
2. Who Was Ayn Rand?
19
Rand in Hollywood 20
The Atlas Phenomenon 22
The Objectivist Movement 25
Was Objectivism a Cult? 26
The Great Schism of Objectivism 29
Shrinking of the Movement 31
From Individualism to the Morality of Capitalism 34
3. Ayn Rand in Person
37
Partisan Accounts 40
Rand and Her Hangers-on 41
The Owner of Objectivism? 43
No One Owns Objectivism 44
Horrified by Hypocrisy 46
From the Political to the Personal and Back 48
Rand’s Personality in Context 51
Ayn and Frank 53
v
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vi Contents
4. The Young Nietzschean
57
Alone Against the World 57
The Evolution of Objectivism 59
The Randian Style 60
Nietzsche’s Influence on Rand 62
The Nietzschean Vision 63
Literary Influences 68
Rand’s Early Fiction 69
Red Pawn 71
Penthouse Legend 72
We the Living 74
The Theme 75
Trio for Heroes 75
A Cinematic Style 77
Textual Changes in We the Living 79
The Failure of Nietzsche 81
5. Scourge of the Second-Handers
83
The Enigma of Ideal 83
Think Twice 86
The Fountainhead 87
The Break with Nietzsche 89
A Traditional Antithesis 93
The Impossible Villain 94
Intellectual Snobbery 95
A Seamless Patchwork 96
Acquittal Unsatisfactory 97
The Embryo of Objectivism 98
Anthem 98
‘The Simplest Thing in the World’ 100
6. The Book that Changed the World
101
A Departure in Style 101
Plot, Plot, and Plot 103
The Technique of Philosophical Integration 104
Rand’s Heroes: The Roots 107
Dagny Taggart and the Randian Woman 109
Francisco d’Anconia 112
Hank Rearden 112
Who Is John Galt? 113
Bit-Part Heroes 114
The Villains 114
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Contents vii
The Secondary Heroes 116
Thirty-Six Just Men? 118
Nathaniel Branden’s Critique 120
Rand and Repression 121
The Randian Lovers 123
Paradox Resolved 125
Beyond the Taggart Terminal 126
7. Rand the Philosopher
127
Objectivism Versus Academia 128
Metaphysical Roots 130
An Epistemological Radical 132
Rand’s Theory of Concepts 133
The Analytic-Synthetic Dichotomy 136
Epistemology in Practice 137
The Objectivist Ethics 139
Ethics and Values: Two Lines of Argument 140
The Randian Argument 142
Ends and Ends in Themselves 143
The Means Test 145
Rand and the Aristotelian Legacy 146
From Is to Ought: Is There Aught or Is All
for Nought? 147
What Is the Meaning of ‘Life’ Anyway? 150
Some Objections to Objectivist Ethics 154
From Leaking Lifeboats to the Asteroid Test 155
The Galt-like Golfer 158
Robert Nozick Versus the Count of Monte Cristo 159
Human Nature and Its Consequences 160
The Ethics of the Future 161
From Theory to How-to 163
Objectivist Esthetics 163
Esthetic Difficulties and Definitions 165
8. Rand’s Politics
167
A Political Odyssey 167
The Radical for Capitalism 169
The Goldwater Debacle 170
Roots of the New Conservatism 172
Rand’s Critique of Conservatism 173
The Evolution of Libertarianism 175
The Essence of Libertarianism 175
Roots of the Political Conflict 176