Whoa.
https://www.chron.com/culture/article/ayn-rand-center-austin-22282747.php
From AI
Ayn Rand would not support any modern political party, as she frequently stated that she did not fully endorse any political group or movement. While she is frequently associated with the American Right due to her advocacy for laissez-faire capitalism, her strict Objectivist philosophy put her at odds with both major parties and the broader libertarian movement. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Here is a breakdown of why her views fundamentally clash with established political affiliations:
- Libertarianism: Rand famously rejected libertarianism, famously calling libertarians “the hippies of the right” and “anarchists”. She opposed the libertarian desire to abolish government entirely, arguing that a strictly limited government is necessary to protect individual rights and enforce contracts. [1, 2, 3]
- The Republican Party: While Rand occasionally supported certain conservative politicians (like Barry Goldwater) because of their anti-communist stances, she heavily criticized conservatism. She found traditional conservatism intellectually bankrupt because it relies heavily on faith, religion, and tradition rather than pure reason. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
- The Democratic Party: Rand was an ardent opponent of the welfare state, collectivism, and wealth redistribution. She fundamentally viewed the liberal platform as a stepping stone to totalitarianism and statism. [1, 2, 3, 4]
- Social and Cultural Views: Her positions were a mix of both left and right, defying easy categorization. For instance, she was a staunch supporter of abortion rights and was fiercely anti-religious, both positions heavily at odds with the modern religious right. [1, 2]
Ultimately, Rand believed in radical individualism and reason. Rather than supporting a party, she evaluated individual candidates strictly on how closely their platforms aligned with her vision of unbridled, free-market capitalism and individual liberty. [1, 2, 3]
Welfare Queen Ayn Rand?
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Great news. Well-deserved. All of my home-schooled kids have her works on their required reading.
I dunno man.
As a guy above pointed out, it is a bit hypocritical that someone that favored laissez-faire capitalism and opposed all income tax later went back and collected Medicare and Social Security in abundance.
I guess the counter argument from their side might be that when you do that, all you are really doing is taking back all the money that the government unjustly took from you over the years.
And of course, there’s the whole Nathaniel Branden affair (if you don’t know, look it up). Watch the movie or read the book “The Passion of Ayn Rand” for a good dramatization of that with Hellen Mirren playing Rand.
That said, I’ve read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
I have also seen the movie version of the Fountainhead with Gary Cooper. Rand herself wrote the screenplay.
I’d like to see the Italian film version of “We The Living” sometime. It was produced without Rand’s permission, but her movement later endorsed it.
For a good book criticizing Rand and her movement, read Jeff Walker’s “The Ayn Rand Cult.”
Who is Ayn Rand for the ones that do not know and why did she escape communism to come to the U.S.A.?
Ayn Rand’s escape from Soviet Russia fundamentally shaped her worldview. Born Alisa Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg in 1905, she watched her family’s pharmacy get confiscated during the communist revolution. Experiencing the resulting privation and loss of freedom, she eventually obtained a visa to visit relatives in the U.S. to never returned.
For anybody interesting or wanting communism/socialism in the U.S.A.
Her debut novel, We the Living (1936), is her most autobiographical work and serves as a direct critique of the totalitarian Soviet system. [1, 2]
What is communism?
It equates to no liberty and total control over your what you and i consider freedom.
The Seeds of Objectivism: Having lived under absolute government control, she went on to develop Objectivism—a philosophy championing reason, individualism, and laissez-faire capitalism. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Who had died in 1924?
Dictator lenin
Who took his place in 1924
Dictator staline, responsible for killing between 10 to 25 millions through a self inflicted famine.
This is why Ayn Rand escaped to the U.S.A.
Many other Russian Jews had left Russian in the early 1900’s many came to New York and a major “rift” happened (that last to this day) with one Jewish fraction at the time that were lenin and stalin supporters in the U.S. The very own New York Times had Jewish reporters that were indeed communist “fans” and saw lenin and stalin as the…answer. The other Jewish fraction that escaped lenin and stalin were on the other side and could not understand how anyone, be a Jew or not could even consider these dictators as an answer, any answer to liberty.
So far socialism/communism has killed 100’s of millions. mao tse tung being the ultimate World’s history human butcher having killed between 100 to 150 millions.
Some use wikipedia. This is how stalin is described:
It takes a while for wikipedia to mention the famine that stalin created all by himself and killed tens of millions, much more to what wikipedia mentions.
There is only one description for one of the worst human beings in human history. He was a dictator like lenin or mao tse tung were. By not calling them dictators it nullifies why Ayn Rand escaped to the U.S.A. and is an insult to the 100’s of millions that have died because of these same dictators.
Any questions?
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We got that.
But to be precise.
She fled the USSR in 1925. Most of her experiences with Communism were under Lenin (also an extremely evil SOB, to be sure), not Stalin.
Look this up.
What I highlighted is putting in perspective the time and place when Rand,Miss Rosenbaum escaped the stalin dictatorship.
To this day the Jewish divide when it comes to communism is one of the least known part of our history. Why is that?
The great depression “fueled” the socialism/communism ideals like a rocket ship. Many Jews that never experienced communism felt vindicated over the ones that did. Hundred of thousands Russian Jews escaped to China or other countries then moved to England or America but again they never experienced what Rand and her family experienced. How ironic it is when karl marx, lenin and Stallin were either born Jewish or closely related to the Jewish faith. Keep in mind that both Marx and lenin family converted to Christianity…what followed was a systematic goal “to go after Jewish businesses” sounds familiar? Yes, hitler did not invent anything…he too was a dictator that had Jewish ancestry.
To this day this “fracture” of pro socialism/communism Jews and anti socialism/communism Jews exist.
Mrs. Rand was a hero for exposing the truth.
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Uh, no.
Lenin was the son of a Russian Orthodox father, and was baptized into that faith, and a Lutheran Mother and later became an atheist.
Not Jewish.
Stalin was also Eastern Orthodox and later an atheist.
Hitler was raised Catholic but was known to have made anti-Christian statements in later life.
law, here is some basic history.
marx family was originally Jewish and converted to Lutheran.
lenin’s family did the same…
Why do you think that is?
trosky? He too was Jewish but renounced his religion.
Again, Lenin’s father was Orhodox Christian, and his mother Lutheran Christian.
If his ancestors further back were Jewish, he was apparently unaware. So no. NOT Jewish.
DNA tests have ruled out any Jewish ancestry for Hitler.
Ancestors is false when you are mentioning this. We are not arguing about three or four generations before they converted.
You missed the entire point of why Ayn Rand escaped Russia.
She left Russia with other tens of thousands of Jews because of how Jews were harassed and persecuted. Both marx and lenin’s families converted to Christianity mostly because of it. Persecuting Jews did not start with hitler.
As for Alice O’Connor (naturalized US legal name), nee Alissa Rosenbaum (birth name), known publicly by pen name Ayn Rand, yes, her family was Jewish.
However, as an adult, she was a militant atheist, as were her chief literary characters, Howard Roark (Fountainhead) and John Galt (Atlas Shrugged).
Her husband Frank O’Connor and slide fling Nathaniel Branden were also both atheists. In O’Connor’s case, an ex-Catholic, and in Branden’s case, ex-Jewish.
According to many sources, Rand’s marriage to O’Connor was, to at least some degree, a “green card” marriage.
Do you know how many Jews and other religious followers became atheist after the great depression? bolsheviks were atheist too.
I would say that I look favorably on most of Rand’s views (speaking purely objectively and completely disregarding American history).
However, I agree that it’s hypocritical to claim to use Laissez-Fair as the basis of one’s view on how society should be run to then use social programs.
But when you insert American history (and politics), it obvious starts to make things fuzzy. While medicare/social security are technically socialist programs, the free-market advocates of the right know that much of their voting base is 65+
I think today both sides are stuck in between idealogies →
- The majority of conservatives cannot drift off to complete conservativsm/traditionalism or it backfires
- The majority of progressives (at least wealthier progressives) don’t want to lose their financial placement within capitalism, so they play the socially liberal, fiscally conservative game which is essentially conservatism at its core
Of course bolsheviks were atheist.
See former Christians turned atheists Lenin and Stalin.
Both were bolsheviks.
Communism was all about anti-religionism.
Ironically, anti-Communist Rand was also a militant atheist.
Atheists come in different flavors, obviously.
Really?
How do you feel about her anti-Palestinianism/pro-Israelism? She called Palestinian Arabs “savages.”
See here:
Well that’s why I emphasized that I favored her views from an objective perspective and disregarding American history
Her views on Israel-Palestine merely stems from the fact that she associates Israel as a similar economic/democratic system as the US - in my opinion, this is not an objective opinion of hers but rather an opinion reflected of her time. Ayn Rand broadly speaking, is of her time in most of her views.
Majority of white Americans up until the mid 1900s were racist - would many of those same people continue to be racist today? Probably not.
The views of her “official” organization on Israel/Palestine haven’t changed though.
See here.
Quote: In ARI’s view the first step is to recognize that this is not a war between moral equals. Israel is the only essentially free country in the Middle East. Hamas, which rules Gaza and is fighting in the name of Islamic totalitarianism, is a terrorist group whose purpose is to destroy Israel. It has launched thousands of rockets against innocent Israelis for nearly a decade. Israel is retaliating against Hamas in self-defense.
Again - I don’t want to go down another Israel-Palestine road because it never ends to anything positive
Israel has been in control of Gaza prior to Hamas, really for the past 70 years. Israel, throughout the various governing authorities in Gaza, have controlled Gaza’s access to food, water, medicine, electricity, imports, and exports.
It’s important to understand that if Gaza flourished, then it would be a threat to Israel, which is why Israel had contained the Palestinians for decades.
I really hope that one day the pro-Israel advocates will acknowledge that the Israel-Palestine conflict did not start on October 7th, 2023.