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Is Ayn Rand Bad for the Market?
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Candidate
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| Contributor | Monsieur |
| Last Edited | Monsieur Dec 08, 2009 10:56pm |
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| Category | Opinion |
| Author | Heather Wilhelm |
| Media | Newspaper - Wall Street Journal |
| News Date | Saturday, December 5, 2009 04:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Say what you will about Ayn Rand, but one thing is certain: She had no use for common niceties. A grimly precocious, friendless Rand declared her atheism at age 13. "Atlas Shrugged," Rand's secular sermon-as-novel, boils with revulsion toward the "looters" and "moochers" who consume public funds. Rand scornfully excommunicated followers who disagreed with her, and in 1964 she told Playboy that those who place friends and family first in life are "immoral" and "emotional parasites."
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Despite her tendency to lose friends and alienate people, Rand's guru-status in today's free-market establishment, detailed in Mr. Doherty's book, is undeniable. "People who are in influential positions at leading free-market organizations were very likely influenced by her at one point," says Chip Mellor, head of the libertarian Institute for Justice. And, he notes, with the spike in government spending and wealth-redistribution programs, "the prescience of her writing has been brought home with a vengeance this year."
But in an age where hope, change and warm-hearted marketing clearly resonate, is revitalizing and glorifying Rand's acerbic "virtue of selfishness" doing the free-market movement any good? Doubts are starting to emerge. Leonard Liggio, a respected figure in libertarian circles and a guest at Rand's post-"Atlas Shrugged" New York get-togethers, sees value in Rand but admits she wasn't a bridge builder. "She used strong, confrontational language, forcing people to react," he says. "And maybe that's not the best way to educate people." Mr. Mellor agrees: "Is Rand's exact message the best for most audiences today? Probably not." |
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