Thought for Food

November 19, 2009

Everyone seems to agree: Ayn Rand is back, and more relevant than ever.

She’s Back! - Reason Magazine (via televisionarie & biteofpythias)

Relevant on what grounds? In that there are two new biographies out about her, and Jon Stewart pandered and pandered hard to one of their authors? In that the greedy will always look for an excuse for their greediness, especially in times when political leaders are seeking a re-balance of government subsidies (for example: health care instead of tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy)?

Rand’s philosophy, conveniently, cannot be tested (it helps that she never portrayed an alternative political and social system in her novels), unless we count the interpretation by her lapdog Allen Greenberg, in which case: all kinds of fail.

One of her biographers offers this rather hilarious tidbit: after the publication of “Atlas Shrugged,” Rand “formed the habit of quoting [the fictional character John Galt] as an independent authority who proved her points.” I’m reminded of an aphorism, told to me by my friend Nathan, that became well-known in the Eastern Bloc: “Everything they told us about communism was a lie. Everything they told us about capitalism was true.”

I loved Thomas Mallon’s evisceration of Randyan philosophy and the two new biographies in this “New Yorker” article. Here’s a taste:

Also, serious (and yeah, sexist) question: why are libertarian women so ugly?

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