How is Ayn Rand Still A Thing?

Even as a capitalist and a fan of some of her writing, I think the majority of “Ayn Randians” know little about her except that she was 1) an apologist for capitalism and selfishness and 2) the person who declared capitalism to be the only moral economy, basically justifying a$$hole-ish behavior as long as there was success tied to it, as Oliver humorously points out.

At the same time, I don’t think liberals have much of a clue about her either. Most of the things I hear them say about Rand are just some obscure regurgitated comments they’ve read on someone else’s blog somewhere, or its their own issues of projection or displacement being put forth instead of legitimate thought. Rand loathed mediocrity and people settling for it, and she also called out (what I call) “fair share” liberals for being more selfish and greedy than most others, so perhaps so many liberals get pissed because she exposes them for who they are?

Either way, to me Rand was/is a mixed bag. Her John Galt speech is brilliant and credit for it is, I think, well-deserved. She also penned very strong and kick-ass female characters and called racism the lowest form of the thing that she loathed most – collectivism – which were just two views among many of hers that were very controversial at the time. Many (but not all) of her views on capitalism, individualism, and entrepreneurship were pretty bang-on and easy to relate to by anyone who was a self-made success, but then again for as much as she was against racism, for instance, her opinion of natives was out of whack; she touted independent women while at the same time suggesting that they find a manhero to “worship”, and she wasn’t much of an entrepreneur so I guess like with anyone, one must take what works for them personally and discard what doesn’t.

Here’s what I don’t get, though – as contradictory or popular as she may be, why is it that liberals try so hard to tear her down? Is it because of her beliefs, her contradictions or is it just because the far-right builds her up as much as they do? If so, either seems a little misplaced to me.

As to her beliefs, in a time of segregation and women having to choose between housewife, teacher, secretary, or nurse as their only possible professions Rand was touting inalienable rights regardless of race or gender and was making women the CEOs of the huge corporations she wrote about in her books, fully believing that “women are not inferior to men in ability or intelligence”. She also said at a time when America was very pro-Christian that religion and faith were “contrary to reality” and “detrimental to human life”. Is this so opposite to liberal thinking? I don’t think so. Seems socially more opposite to far-right thinking if you ask me. That’s one thing I don’t get about liberals when it comes to Ayn Rand.

As to her contradictions, how can liberals rip on Rand for her other beliefs that go against their ideology when they themselves idolize heroes who have beliefs and practices that did the very same? Take Gandhi, for instance. He said and did great things around freedom and basic rights, yet he apparently was a homophobic (at least publicly), misogynistic, racist that still believed in slavery. Views very different than the ones liberals pretend to have, yet he’s just as quickly put up on a liberal pedestal for his other views on say, pacifism just as quickly as Randians put Rand up on a pedestal for her views on capitalism, so what gives?

As to her popularity, to those who are self-made, happy, and successful, Rand is very popular and I suppose it’s because they can identify with Rand’s characters and beliefs – their struggles as well as their successes and for anyone successful, Rand’s words about guts, individualism, and capitalism for the most part ring true.

For the loser, however, i.e. the person unhappy and too chicken-shit to take any sort of risks in order to change their situation, I suppose her words would be not just unpopular but perhaps even foreign or offensive to them and a big reason why they’re losers in the first place? “Fair share” liberals would naturally hate anything that calls them out on either their greed, their selfishness, or their laziness, and Rand calls them out on all three so perhaps that’s why they hate her so much?

Either way, Oliver is right to rip on the far right for their ridiculous hero worship, but let’s not be fooled into thinking that the far left is any better. Both claim some b.s. moral and intellectual highground, and both pursue their own self-interests under the guise of serving the “common good”. The far right says they do it by caring that the market has “choice”, or by building a “quality product” wheras the far left says they do it through “robbing from the rich to give to the poor”, both of which are bullshit. To me, both are egotistical hypocrites regardless of who they happen to put up on their own pedestal be it Rand, Gandhi, or anyone else for that matter.

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