The Need for a Culture of Achievement

Quillette ^ | 5 Jan 2022 | Robert Tracinski

[Rummyfan]

What does Ayn Rand have to offer to our era? The Russian-born American author rose to prominence as a novelist and philosopher in the middle of the 20th century, and attracted a large audience on the American Right with her sharp critique of communism. The comprehensive alternative she presented in her philosophy and her fiction championed individualism against collectivism—the fundamental ideological conflict of her era. That is why, despite her atheism, she enjoyed significant influence on the American Right and is still considered indispensable, even by many who had profound disagreements with her.

The issues of today are not quite the same, nor are the ideological alignments. Yet people are still seeking out Ayn Rand’s ideas and trying to understand her influence, if sometimes with less than edifying results. A recent piece in Quillette attributes her influence and relevance primarily to her pop culture celebrity and the magnetism of her dark and famously penetrating eyes. But there is much more to Rand’s enduring relevance, and to understand it, we have to delve into the substance of her ideas.

Ayn Rand’s influence was closely tied to her engagement with the big events of her era. She presented her ideas, to an extent unusual for a philosopher, embedded in commentary on the political and cultural news of the day. She offered new thoughts on epistemology and concept-formation in an article on the Republican National Convention of 1964. Her ideas on the relationship between reason and emotion were presented in a speech on the contrast between the two big cultural events of 1969: Woodstock and the Moon landing.

But because she was operating on a deeper philosophical level, her message transcends the particular context in which she wrote...

[Rockingham]

Oh, but it is so fashionable and potentially profitable to be a victim that hoaxes and self-identification as a victim are remarkably common. For example, budding Black teen thug Trayvon Martin was cast as a victim of racist “white Hispanic” George Zimmerman. Although Martin attacked Zimmerman in a beatdown and Zimmerman was acquitted of criminal charges at trial, Martin’s family nevertheless got a million dollar pretrial settlement from Martin’s homeowner association and they gained other monetary awards and an ocean of favorable publicity. In some quarters, that is what passes for achievement these days.

[Basket_of_Deplorables]

In b4 the “I hate Losertarians!” crowd.

Ayn was so far ahead of her time. Atlas Shrugged is coming true.