Ayn Rand on the Rise
Yesterday, I caught a post on Hot Air about the celebration of Ayn Rand that Reason is holding. Sadly, I missed the event last night, but I found ReasonTV’s newest clip interesting.
Long-time readers know that I grew up in an extremely politically conservative family. However, my parents didn’t raise me to be a broken-glass Republican, but a true conservative who embraces social and fiscal conservative values. They were also readers, and both of my parents love Ayn Rand and JRR Tolkein. At the dinner table we were just as likely to discuss Hobbits as we were politics.
I remember reading The Fountainhead in ninth grade. By far, it’s one of the most influential books that I’ve ever read. It’s one of those books that I try to re-read every five years because I always get something new out of it. Until I reached college, I had always planned on a career in art, and the struggles of Howard Roark resonated with me.
Admittedly, I’ve never read Atlas Shrugged. Oh, I’ve tried. It’s been on my reading list for at least 10 years now. I know this hurts my conservative street cred, but Rand is incredibly difficult to get into. With the popularitiy of Rand on the rise, maybe I’ll be hip and try to get through it.
Tags: Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, ReasonTV
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:55 am
[...] Conservative » Ayn Rand on the RisePosted 34 minutes [...]
November 3rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
I never read Atlas either… The premise is pretty clear from internet chatter… captains of industry and finance are the “Atlas” who carries the world on their shoulders… and if they take their marbles and go home everybody is screwed. I enjoyed the Fountainhead a lot – and I’m guessing it’s a lot more down-to-earth… The protagonist there is primarily an artisan, who – by virtue of becoming self-employed – leverages his own work for great profit. And he isn’t afraid of physical labor, either. So, he’s a lot more sympathetic from my point-of-view. He still seems to have Rand’s anarchist/anti-social streak, entertaining the fantasy that everything he has produced he has done entirely by himself, and owes no one any part of it, but even that was endearing to me in my early twenties… I kind of had grandiose notions of myself back then, too. In any case, Rand was certainly ahead of her time, and a helluva writer. She gets a lot of grief nowadays – only a small part of it because her social philosophy was a touch facile and unreflective. Mostly, I think it’s because certain libertarian types have taken her work and tried to make a model economic system out of it.
In any case… she’s a fine writer… One day, I plan to give Atlas a spin… Let us know what you think of it if you do.
November 4th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I’m a fan of both books.
And I thought up a good bumper sticker for you:
Social Conservatism—Legislating morality since 1980.
LOL.
November 5th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Good one, David.