Ayn Rand was a writer and philosopher, born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire on February 2, 1905. Her family was wealthy, but after the Bolshevik Revolution, her father’s business was confiscated and they struggled financially.
Alisa studied history at the Petrograd State University, although she was purged for a while for being a bourgeoise student, but eventually allowed to graduate in 1924. While in university, she was enthralled by Aristotle’s writings, whom she credits as being her main inspiration.
Rand’s life changed when she went to visit relatives in Chicago in 1926 and decided to stay in the US. She gained citizenship after marrying actor Frank O’Connor and became Alice O’Conner, while also adopting the pen name Ayn Rand.
Rand got her big breakthrough came with her screenplay Red Pawn and then Night of January 16th, which opened on Broadway in 1935. Rand’s first novel We the Living (published in 1936) outlined Rand’s main topic of interest – the individual vs. the state.
Rand and her husband became politically involved in the 1940’s and she realised she had a passion for public speaking and political activism. Through her new social sphere, Rand was able to meet prominent philosophers such as Ludwig von Mises from the Austrian School of Economics and libertarian writer Isabel Paterson. The three drew inspiration from each other.
Later, Rand published her novel The Fountainhead (published in 1943), which became an international success. She then moved to New York City and created a group of like-minded individuals who went to become the biggest proponents of her objectivist philosophy and the keepers of her legacy (think Ayn Rand Institute).
Rand’s magnum opus Atlas Shrugged (published in 1957) cemented her as one of the most famous American philosophers and writers of her time.
Objectivism
Rand coined the term objectivism to describe her ideology, which can be summarised as accepting reality as it is, following reason rather than whims or faith, working hard to achieve a sense of purpose, pursuing your own happiness, and treating people like individuals with whom you trade value, as per Rand Institute.
Rand advocated for selfishness, which made her unlikable in some social and political circles, but we think she was rather misunderstood in that aspect. Rand believed that all people should be able to pursue their own goals without their growth being spurred by others and/or by the state. Considering Rand’s experiences under Soviet rule, we can understand why.
Rand and Politics
So how does Rand’s philosophy apply to political life? First, she believed that the only just economic system is capitalism. Second, Rand supported limited or small government (she’s sometimes wrongfully described as anarchist), whose only purpose should be protecting one’s rights and protecting one from violence.
Rand has stated many times that the government (not just the US government, but most governments) fails to protect people and violates the Non-Aggression Principle. An example for that is taxation – taxation is not voluntary, but mandatory and taxes are collected under the threat of violence (imprisonment). She supported voluntary taxation and charity.
Rand was also against the welfare state, because she noted that for money or property to be transferred to someone, they have to be taken from someone first. According to Rand, there’s no such thing as a right to economic security.
Rand and Politicians
It should be noted that Rand became famous during the Cold War. We say this because Rand’s story as a Russian woman who escaped the Soviet dictatorship and achieved the American dream made her a darling to American politicians and likely helped her book sales. That is not to say that she wouldn’t have accomplished anything otherwise, but to only note that the political climate was favorable.
There are many politicians who have explicitly declared their love for the Russian-born philosopher. Ronald Reagan described himself as an admirer of Rand back in 1966. He might have changed his opinion once he became the US president, because Rand spoke against the religious right and specifically against the newly-elected president.
She believed Americans should follow reason, not faith, and that this religious insurgence might negatively impact capitalism. She also stated that she supported abortion, as opposed to Reagan. However, Raegan did support abortion before his presidential run, he even made it legal in California. He also legalized “no-fault divorce” and arguably his born-again-Christian attitude only emerged when he was struggling with his presidential campaign.
Another big supporter of Rand during her own time was (and still is) Ron Paul. The libertarian politician said she influenced him, but at the same time he didn’t agree with her opinion on religion. His son, senator Rand Paul, appears to feel the same way, although he hasn’t criticized Ayn (as far as we know).
Apart from politicians, Rand has also influenced wealthy political donors such as the Koch brothers. David and Charles Koch share her views more attentively than others, probably because they’re not religious. They have financially supported the Ayn Rand Institute and they founded the Cato Institute, which also popularizes her philosophy.
Current Trend
Ayn Rand’s supporters in DC have only multiplied in the 40 years since she passed away. There has been a renewal in interest or it perhaps became better known due to the increasing role of social media in our daily lives. We want to give you a small list of contemporary American politicians who have explicitly professed their love for Rand:
- Donald Trump, 45th President of the US
- Paul Ryan, 54th Speaker of the House of Representatives
- Ron Paul, US Representative for Texas (22nd and then 14th congressional district)
- Rand Paul, US Senator from Kentucky
- Ron Johnson, US Senator from Wisconsin
- Gary Johnson, 29th Governor of New Mexico
- Ted Cruz, US Senator from Texas
- Clarence Thomas, Supreme Court Justice
- Rex Tillerson, 69th US Secretary of State
- Mike Pompeo, Head of the CIA, 70th US Secretary of State
- Andrew Puzder, nominee for US Secretary of Labor
As we have shown, Rand is still influential in DC. Some philosophers and political analysts have even gone as far as to claim that one cannot understand contemporary US politics without looking at Ayn Rand first. This is why we believe Ayn Rand and her works are a pivotal moment in 20th century United States.