Political Ideologie - Objectivism

What is it?

A rather fascinating set of beliefs created by Russian emigré to the US, Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum), Objectivism is as much a political ideology as it is an entire philosophical system. Rand took the daunting task of uniting all of philosophy, creating in the process a way of thinking characterized by a struggle for rationality and truth. Aristotle was her biggest influence and model. Her world-view is characterized by objectivity, rationality, atheism, unbridled capitalism, progress, rational self-interest, and a belief in the endless potential of humanity. While Rand was not an anarchist, her ideas naturally lead to a libertarian, “night watchman” state with laissez-faire capitalism.

An Objectivist state would operate quite similarly to a Minarchist one. The main difference is mostly in the way the members of society see themselves. Like Minarchism, a free market is considered paramount for a truly free society, with private property rights being considered extremely important. While Minarchism is broad, there are a few precepts which make Objectivism distinct, like atheism (religion is considered oppressive; Rand even saw capitalism as incompatible with it), a fascination with modernity and human progress, and an emphasis on truth, rationality, and objectivity as the only tools through which we can properly thrive in this world. This makes Objectivism heavily cultural and philosophical as well as political in nature.

Rand’s work was continued by her protégé, Leonard Peikoff. She has grown somewhat influential in some corners of our real world (mostly the USA, where a few prominent politicians have cited her as an influence) and the Internet. While considered a fringe belief in libertarian and right-wing circles, the bad reputation the ideology has gotten as an excuse for people to not care about others is somewhat unfair and a result of tons of second-hand criticism. There are three main reasons for this:

1. Completely understanding Rand’s philosophy requires reading not only her non-fiction (“The Virtue of Selfishness” etc.), but also her fiction (“The Fountainhead”, “Atlas Shrugged” etc.). Her books contain characters which represent different world-views, and Rand uses them to advocate for her beliefs. It is easy to conflate Rand’s talent as a fiction writer with the quality of her ideology, not to mention that this reliance on fiction makes her unappealing to academics. Some find these books to be morally questionable, with Rand’s virtuous humans committing acts which many find repugnant or indefensible (the protagonist of “The Fountainhead”, Howard Roark, is, for instance, an arsonist). The fact that her books are often doorstoppers and/or poorly edited doesn’t help either.

2. Rand uses some very odd terminology. She used “selfishness” when she meant “rational self-interest”, and “altruism” when she meant “sacrifice for a greater goal”. Her advocacy for the former and demonization of the latter are perfectly fine views which can be debated when you know what she means. However, superficially, it looks like Rand wanted everyone to be uncaring and egotistical, which is definitely not the case. Humans could definitely display charity in her society.

3. It is always necessary to separate the person from the argument. Unfortunately, Rand’s life is characterized by drama. Near its’ end, a proper cult had been created around her ideas. The fact that it was centered on truth and rationality made no difference. This has been covered extensively in the book “The Ayn Rand Cult” by Jeff Walker. Love affairs which I will not detail have also contributed to her movement’s bad reputation. Calling her entire philosophy cultish is, however, unfair.

How it can go wrong

Chaos. Without a strong police force, crime and general immorality is rampant. Drugs, poverty, and shady companies are everywhere. Science has progressed tremendously, not held back by silly things like “morality” and “common sense”. The artists are some of the most deranged and sick people you have ever seen, running around freely. The state is in shambles and can’t help the workers and the poor, feverishly exploited by the bourgeois at the top, a steadily shrinking group of amoral bastards with Chronic Backstabbing Disorder. The poor are seen as nothing but rats and scum, and no one will care if you kill them on the streets. The fact that the wide-spread ideas of the state encourage everyone to be selfish, egotistical, uncaring jerks doesn’t help either. If you played the game Bioshock 1 it is basically a video game example of how an Objectivist society (being the underwater city of Rapture) can go terribly wrong.