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The Ayn Rand Column: Written for the Los Angeles Times

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What many regard as the most influential philosopher of the 20th century, Philosopher and Novelist Ayn Rand was known for crafting novels of Hugoesque proportions that presented the heroic elements of the ideal man, as well as writing epistemological treatises on the art of logic and the process of concept formation that focused on the most abstract and fundamental issues to man. In *The Ayn Rand Column*, Rand shifts to a different gear as she writes short crisp pieces on the current issues of her day.

*The Ayn Rand Column* contains over 35 pieces by Rand ranging from the brief, but concise pieces such as an "Introduction to Objectivism", "The Secular Meaning of Christmas", and "Why I Like Stamp Collecting" to the more lengthy "Textbook on Americanism", "Modern Management", and "The Fascist New Frontier." The collection also features an introduction by the book's editor Peter Schwartz, that helps ties the pieces together.

My favorite piece in the collection is Rand's "War and Peace" where Rand makes the case for why today's peace movements are *not* advocates of peace, but of gang-rule, statism, and thus dictatorship. Quoting Rand,

"Professing love and concern for the survival of mankind, these [peace] movements keep screaming that...that armed force and violence should be abolished as a means of settling disputes among nations, and that war should be outlawed in the name of humanity. Yet these same peace movements do not oppose dictatorships; the political views of their members range through all shades of the statist spectrum, from "welfare statism" to socialism to fascism to communism. This means that they are opposed to the use of coercion by one nation against another, but not by the government of a nation against its own citizens; it means that they are opposed to the use of force against *armed* adversaries but not against the *disarmed*..."

And after some discussion of the concretes events to support her claim, Rand concludes:

"...Let all those who are seriously concerned with peace, those who do love *man* and do care about his survival, realize that war cannot be outlawed by lawless statist thugs and that it is not war but *force* that has to be outlawed."

If I may make a brief philosophical assessment: Wow!

What is most illuminating about this collection is Rand's ability to dissect what, at first glance, appears to be a concrete, trivial issue--say the much-maligned "commercialized" gift-giving during Christmas--and shows how it relates to some timeless philosophical principle of vital importance (Sorry! You'll have to read the book for the principle). To use a popular metaphor, Ayn Rand was a woman who could see the forest (abstractions) for the trees (concretes), and vice-versa.

Though this book uses the issues of the 1960's to reveal the work of philosophy in action, it is of value to the modern reader of today, as the philosophical principles Rand elucidates are timeless.

As most of the essays in the book were written as newspaper op-ed pieces, they occasionally suffer from "current-itis"; i.e. they were designed with the assumption that the reader would have familiarity with the events being discussed. To that end, I would recommend that people who would like to get the most out of this book brush up a bit on their early-'60's history first.

With that caveat, however, I would strongly encourage anyone with an interest in Ayn Rand's writing to read this book. It is a good example of how to put some of the more abstract parts of Objectivist philosophy into real-world practice. Rand's book "The Romantic Manifesto", for example, becomes more clear in the light of her essay on the television show "The Untouchables".

Also, even if one is not especially interested in period current events, there are some essays of broader scope included after the columns. Of particular note are her essay "The Fascist New Frontier" (an invaluable antidote to the floods of Kennedy worship pumped out by the mass media), and her explanation of why atheists can celebrate Christmas. I believe that both long-time Objectivists and people who are new to the philosophy can find something useful in this book. Furthermore, even if you have no interest in Objectivism, the book is still an enlightening look at a pivotal time in American history.

A long time admirer of Rand's work, I found this a refreshing perspective on her. While I'd come to know her characters and read her philosophical works, I really didn't feel I truly understood her until I read this book. I cannot compare it to letters or the like because I have not read them. But, this work is like looking in on practical applications of her philosophy. For example, her discussion of the value of Christmas to atheist such as herself is very enlightening. In addition, her discussion of the monopoly of force still rings in my mind years after I first read it. Being born in the 70's, growing up in the 80's & 90's, her philosophy brings me much joy compared to the pink socialism that I have seen throughout my life and been frustrated by. I think this work should be a supplement to any serious reader of Rand and would highly recommend this.

The previous reader, I think, has either never really finished reading a single Ayn Rand book, or totally doesn't understand the philosopy of Ayn Rand. She is one of the greatest thinkers of all time and once you really understand her philosophy and appreciate it to the fullest it's impossible not to agree with it for any person who calls him or herself "rational" or "thinking". This book offers many real-life applications to Ayn Rand's philosophy and really is a wonderful and thought-provoking book.

THE AYN RAND COLUMN is a collection of columns that Rand wrote for the LA Times in 1962. It also contains a number of other essays by Rand which, for the most part, haven't been published. Even longtime fans of Rand will find something new here.

No doubt Rand's uncritical admirers will insist that "the material is just as timely now as it was in 1962" but quite a bit of it is dated. Nonetheless, the book has its merits. Rand was a good writer and these columns highlight her ability to write short, punchy pieces that get to the point and occasionally make insightful and important points. There are also no diatribes against religion, "mysticism," religious people who worship death, etc. that tends to mar her more serious philosophical essays. Rand claimed never to compromise, but she certainly knew her audience.

So chalk up a minor success for the Ayn Rand Institute.

If you liked her novels you will really enjoy this collection of her articles. Some of them are dated in that they deal with current events (elections, Cuban missile crisis, Nazis marching in Skokie, Illinois), but any serious or not-so-serious student of history will enjoy them. One article I found particularly illuminating was the one in which she descibed a 'Party X' that would stand on principle as opposed to the current Republican Party platform in relation to John Kennedy and his Democratic Party. Toss in an essay on the death of Marilyn Monroe, stamp collecting and Medicare and you have quite interesting (and quick) reading. These articles do contain a certain timelessness when you transpose them to the current events of today. To the mother of libertarianism, I say, "Thanks Mom. Even though you don't approve of me sometimes, I still love you." Good stuff.

If you would like a quick, easy-to-read introduction to Ayn Rand's philosophy...if you would like to see how Ayn Rand applied her philosophy...if you simply would like a glimpse into the objectivist world, then this is the book. This is a compilation of numerous articles on various issues that touched America, including the death of Marilyn Monroe. Some of the articles may shock you, but all require a second read-through. Keep in mind, though, that Ayn Rand was a narcissist who had a closed-minded view of who her followers were and who they weren't; that prevented her from portraying objectivism for what it is -- a great "philosophy of philosophy," a method of interpreting human actions and a guideline for having your own ideas.

I believe Ayn Rand's writings are very destructive. And this isn't because of her highly un-original philosophy. No, the reason for this is the powerful grip the books has on her followers. In her books they find justification for behaving in a anti-social manner that is slowly destroying the fabric of the societies of the Western World. This egoism is supposedly derived from "reason". In the real world however there is no reason for people not to find fulfillment and meaning from helping others and caring for their family and friends. The accusation that "altruism", i.e. decency and goodness, leads to tyranny is nothing but products of a very paranoid mind. The craziest thing about this though is the fact that Ayn Rand has been raised to a saint-like status by her followers. No disagreement with her writings is ever accepted and if you disagree you are an evil communist/collectivist. To be a true individualist you must agree with everything she has ever written. Isn't this collectivism in a true sense? No, says her followers, those views are derived by reason and must therefore be share by all intelligent human beings. Pretty scary!! Note that Objectivism, like Marxism, Freudianism and Jungianism, is a closed system of thought in the sense that any critisism of the system is automatically seen as a symptom of unreason. This is what makes Objectivism a religion rather than a philosophy or scientific method. And this is also the reason for the fanatical behavior of her disciples.