Ayn Rand Explained
From Tyranny to Tea Party
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- US$18.99
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- US$18.99
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Fifty-five years after Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand is more in the news than ever. Ayn Rand Explained is an accurate and riveting account of Rand’s life, work, and influence, with the emphasis on her ideas.
The book covers Rand’s career, from youth in Soviet Russia to Hollywood screenwriter and then to ideological guru; her novels and other fiction writings; her work in ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics; her influence on—and personal animosity toward—both conservatism and libertarianism.
Rand’s Objectivism encompasses the ethics of rational egoism (‘The Virtue of Selfishness’); dedication to rational thinking and acting; rejection of faith in the supernatural, personal freedom from political interference, and a moral defense of limited government and laissez-faire.
Objectivism was first promoted through the Nathaniel Branden Institute, headed by Rand’s young protégé and designated heir. The Institute’s phenomenally rapid growth was abruptly cut short when Rand expelled Branden and his followers in 1968. Today Objectivism is represented by different factions, notably the Ayn Rand Institute and the Atlas Society.
This is a revised, updated edition of The Ideas of Ayn Rand (1991), including new information on Rand’s rocketing influence, new stories about her personal relationships, and new analysis of her life and ideas.
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Enright, a psychotherapist and board member of the Atlas Society who is revising and updating Merrill's 1991 The Ideas of Ayn Rand, examines Rand's life, writings, and thought, as well as the often harsh critical reaction to her philosophy. From her traumatic experiences of growing up during the Russian Revolution, Rand discovered a "passionate love for independent, creative Man, and a hatred for all forms of collectivism." Out of this, she developed Objectivism, best expressed in her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In her fiction, highly independent men struggle against a totalitarian world to produce great, creative work and achieve success. Taking reason as the ultimate guide, Rand concludes that "the only meaningful or justifiable values a man can choose are those which serve to sustain his life." Viewed through this lens, capitalism becomes the best system for providing people with opportunities to develop their talents. This emphasis on individual excellence also means Rand rejected such values as altruism, decried religious ideologies, and called for a "pure" laissez-faire market economy. Enright shows how Rand's ideas emerge from previous philosophers, explaining her view of selfishness as Aristotle's concept of the "Great-Souled man," "pursuing excellence and achievement" with nobility and vision. An exhaustive exploration of a controversial, much misunderstood writer and thinker.
