Posted on 03/29/2009 1:22:09 PM PDT by freemike
Ayn Rand, the author of Atlas Shrugged is interviewed by Mike Wallace in 1959. She talks morality and government. If I had to peg her, I would say she'd be a backer of Ron Paul. Definitely not a Palin supporter. I did just get her book and am into the second chapter. It's a good read so far.Libertas
Can you provide any original sources (i.e., not anti-Rand opinion pieces) that support your argument that she was an AA feminist? Otherwise, I would say you are way off base.
Somehow, I don’t see Dagny Taggart or Dominique Francon needing AA to succeed.
In fact, she over-glamorized men as hero figures, to the detriment of her own marriage.
Yes, the religion thing was too much, but as you said, no one is perfect. If she had spoke of those who fleece the flock, and left it at that, it would have been OK.
Read the book: Ayn Rand Answers, edited by Robert Mayhew (2005).
She states clearly that she believes in feminism and believes in goverment interference to enforce it.
If you can get hold of a copy of The 5000 Year Leap, you may add another book into the top 3.
I believe you are right, in the modern sense. She would be appalled at the modern feminist movement but I believe she wasn’t so appalled at it’s beginning so much as intellectual equality and the right to work as back in her day that was a struggle.
Ayn is great for politics, but when it comes to the way an individual should live his life, I find her philosophy lacking.
Agreed.
“In fact, she over-glamorized men as hero figures, to the detriment of her own marriage.”
Yes, but she also stated she believes women should not look up to men or hold them as heros. I think you are confusing her use of men as heros as a belief that all women should hold men as heros.
Ditto
- belief in the value, the dignity and the freedom of Man.
- the American way of life has always been based upon the Rights of Man, upon individual freedom, and on upon respect for each individual human personality.
- each man has inalienable rights which cannot be taken from him for any cause whatsoever. These rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
- the right of life means that man cannot be deprived of his life for the convenience of any number of other men.
- the right of liberty means freedom of individual decision, individual choice, individual judgment and individual initiative; it means also the right to disagree with others.
- the right to the pursuit of happiness means man's freedom to choose what constitutes his own private, personal happiness and to work for its achievement; that such a pursuit is neither evil nor reprehensible, but honorable and good; and that a man's happiness is not to be prescribed to him by any other man nor by any number of other men.
- these rights have no meaning unless they are the unconditional, personal, private possession of each man, granted to him by the fact of his birth, held by him independently of all other men, and limited only by the exercise of the same rights by other men.
- the only just, moral and beneficent form of society is a society based upon the recognition of these inalienable individual rights.
- the State exists for Man, and not Man for the State.
- the greatest good for all men can be achieved only through the voluntary cooperation of free individuals for mutual benefit, and not through a compulsory sacrifice of all for all.
- "voluntary" presupposes an alternative and a choice of opportunities, and thus even a universal agreement of all men on one course of action is neither free nor voluntary if no other course of action is open to them.
- each man's independence of spirit and other men's respect for it have created all civilization, all culture, all human progress and have benefited all mankind.
- the greatest threat to civilization is the spread of Collectivism, which demands the sacrifice of all individual rights to collective rights and the supremacy of the State over the individual.
-the general good which such Collectivism professes as its objective can never be achieved at at the sacrifice of man's freedom, and such sacrifice can lead only to general suffering, stagnation and degeneration.
- such conception of Collectivism is the greatest possible evil-under any name, in any form, for any professed purpose whatsoever.
(1)Harriman, David. ed. Journals of Ayn Rand. Plume. 1999.p354,355.
It’s a shame that Wallace was not familiar with Heinlein. Robert wrote better fiction and soliloquies that were nearly as long. And he wrote them long before 1959, although he perfected them in the ‘60’s.
They tell me that Rand and Heinlein never met, although their writings are very similar in theme. Even his women were as one dimensional in the early books, and they never grew beyond the 13 year old boy’s fantasy woman.
Heinlein’s men were more adult, however. Most of the time.
Come to think of it — did anyone ever see the two together in the same room? Do we have any evidence that the two were not the same person?
Could it be that Lazarus Long is more real than we imagined?
I haven’t read that book, but I read nearly all of hers (fiction as well as about a dozen non-fiction), and nothing she wrote struck me as being supportive of “feminism” or government set asides.
She did refute “multiculturalism”, “affirmative action”, and other unearned preferences. I don’t see how she would’ve supported anything but government blindness to all traits except merit.
Palin is a Christian. That’s what I would think. Just my opinion. Just watched the Phil Donahue interview. Yes, Ayn is arrogant. Not just an atheist but thinks Christians are demented. Seems like she really can not tolerate other’s opposing views, either, from that interview. Watch the last two segments if you are rushed for time. I still like her books, though.
http://iwilldefendtheconstitution.com/node/773
Could you post(if it’s not too long or too much trouble) what Ayn Rand actually said about feminism in that book? Also, if possible, the year she advocated affirmative action and state enforcement of women’s hiring for jobs? The reason I ask this is I saw an interview with her that was taped in 1979. In it, she and the feminists were disgreeing strongly about affirmative action for women with Rand making a two wrongs don’t make a right type of argument against affirmative action for women. Rand sounded much more like Phyllis Schlafly in that exchange than Gloria Steinem.
Of course, people can be inconsistent and/or change their opinions over time, but I think it would be interesting to read considering how anti-statist and anti-collectivist Ayn Rand was and how pro-statist/collectivist the NOW gang was(and still is).
Ping
“Could you post(if it’s not too long or too much trouble) what Ayn Rand actually said about feminism in that book?”
Nope. Book’s packed away. (We’re moving) But you can go to the nearest book store and get it for about $10.
“Of course, people can be inconsistent and/or change their opinions over time”
I believe her comments were made around 1974. The book is a composition of many of her comments.
In fairness to Rand, I did hear her say in an interview that we Christians have the right to believe what we wanted to believe but that she had the right not to approve of or agree with what we believed in. Just as I would legally allow Rand to have her atheism but I have the right to not approve of it nor be should I be forced to approve of it either. In that instance, Rand was a refreshing contrast to the modern left(I’m mainly thinking of contemporary feminists, homosexualists and their enablers and global warming fanatics) which seems to not only disapprove of those who disagree with them but also wants to use the force of the state to criminalize and punish those who disagree with them as well.
I like her interview with Tom Snyder-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4doTzCs9lEc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ex-rVkOFHU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFy9A7WEzPA&feature=related
Ping!
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