AYN RAND Flashcards
What was Rand’s key work?
‘Atlas Shrugged’ (1957)
What was the theme of Rand’s key work?
That talented individuals, rather than ambitious governments, lay at the heart of any successful society
What is Rand’s famous non-fiction work?
‘The Virtue Of Selfishness’ (1964)
What was the term ‘‘objectivism’, that Rand described in her non-fiction work, mean?
That we should all be guided by self-interest and ‘rational self-fulfilment’
What did Rand for her views on ‘objectivism’ become associated with?
Atomism (the term for a society defined by millions of autonomous individuals)
What idea did Rand’s work provide a philosophical justification for?
The idea that society did not exist in any practical form, it was ideally just a loose collection of indecent individuals
What justification on the New Right did Rand’s ‘objectivism’ become linked?
‘rolling back the frontiers of the state’
What did Rand call herself politically?
A libertarian, both for individual and economic rights
Why did Rand reject anarchism?
Because she though both the free market and cultural laissez-faire needed the parameters of a small state
Why was Rand a conservative and not an anarchist?
She stated her connection with conservatism by claiming liberty was impossible without order and security
Who did Rand support in the 1964 US presidential election?
The ultra-conservative Republican Barry Goldwater
Rand’s view of human nature
Objectivist: we are and ought to be guided by rational self-interest and the pursuit of self-fulfilment
Rand’s view of the state
The state should confine itself to law,order and national security. Any attempt to promote “positive liberty” via state intervention should be resisted
Rand’s view of society
In so far as it exists at all, society is atomistic: the mere sum of its individuals. Any attempt to restrict individuals in the name of society should be challenged
Rand’s view of the economy
free-market capitalism is an expression of “objectivist” individualism and should not be hindered by the state
