Rand takes on the Constitution an objectivist perspective of the United States Constitution

Author and philosopher Ayn Rand has gathered a cult like following thanks to her bestselling novels We the Living, Anthem, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Through Rand\u27s fictional writings she illustrates the principles of her philosophy objectivism. Objectivism employs five principles; objective reality, reason, self -interest, capitalism and individualism as the truths that govern the philosophy. Objectivists believe that their self-reliant philosophy holds the key to all life\u27s answers. This thesis examines the following question: what would the founder of objectivism Ayn Rand think about the U.S. Constitution? Sadly Ayn Rand passed away in 1982 and never expressed her full opinion on how she felt about the U.S. Constitution. However, using the five principles of the objectivist ideology, public interviews done with Ayn Rand during her life time, and the opinions expressed by Rand in her four fictional novels this thesis will deconstruct the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights and then reconstruct them so that they concur with the objectivist philosophy. The purpose of this thesis is to inform readers of the objectivist philosophy and to highlight the differences and similarities between Ayn Rand\u27s beliefs and the Founding Fathers through the Constitution

Genuine Ayn Rand

Rand was deeply affected by the years she spent in Russia in spite of her denial of environmental influences. She held that one\u27s environment had little, if any, control over one\u27s fate. This study is the anti-thesis to Rand\u27s attitude about her childhood. It demonstrates that in three distinct areas, history, psychology, and sociology, by defining Rand\u27s perspective and then researching its origins, a deeper understanding of her ideas is put forth. Rand\u27s unusual parental influence and unique experience of living through the Russian Revolution never left her

Ayn Rand (1905 - 1982)

Bolivia se encuentra dentro de un proceso autonómico que incluye la descentralización fiscal entre los distintos niveles de gobierno. La asignación de los recursos tributarios, un componente esencial de cualquier sistema fiscal descentralizado, podría en este sentido dejar de tener una estructura hasta ahora bastante centralizada. El sistema tributario boliviano actual, que desde 1994 se ha basado sobre todo en la coparticipación de los ingresos tributarios más que en una verdadera asignación tributaria, genera diversos tipos de desigualdades horizontales y verticales. Una asignación tributaria más descentralizada debería corregir diversos fallos presentes e incrementar el poder tributario de los gobiernos subnacionales

Book review: mean girl: Ayn Rand and the culture of greed by Lisa Duggan

In Mean Girl: Ayn Rand and the Culture of Greed, Lisa Duggan offers a new thesis on the infamous literary, cultural and political icon, Ayn Rand, exploring how the adoption of many of her philosophical and political ideas and beliefs helped fuel the insidious shift towards neoliberalism. Duggan’s skills as a cultural historian and her sharp-witted socio-political commentary fuse seamlessly together in this short yet fascinating book that is a necessary read for students of culture and politics, as well as activists and organisers, writes Ellen Reid

II D Music, Philosophy, and Communications Presentation 2: Rand’s Rationale in Favor of Ethical Egoism

This presentation addresses Ayn Rand\u27s view of ethical egoism and presents a counterargument against her argument

The Position of the Intellectual in the 1950s: Case Studies of J. D. Salinger and Ayn Rand

The purpose ofthis study was to examine the historical and social factors that influenced American intellectual life in the 1950s, and to apply these broader, cultural influences to case studies on two American writers working in the 1950s: J. D. Salinger and Ayn Rand. Research involved diverse readings in biography and literary criticism concerning the two authors as well as interpretation ofthe authors\u27 works themselves. Despite having opposing philosophical, aesthetic, and intellectual ideals, J. D. Salinger and Ayn Rand typify the position ofthe intellectual in the 1950s because they share the conflicting needs ofacceptance and superiority. While the two authors define intelligence in radically different ways, both attempt to escape the existential crisis of post-war life by offering solutions to the intellectuals\u27 unique dilemma that emphasize intellectuals\u27 roles as artists and economic producers

Atlas Shrugged and third-wave feminism: An unlikely alliance

Ayn Rand and her work are often ignored by feminist critics because of Rand\u27s personal life, her views on sex, and her vehement rejections of collectivism. Feminism has moved through overlapping waves known as first, second, and third-wave feminism. Throughout its life feminism has been marked by two strands: relational and individual. The strand of individual feminism has been more prevalent in Anglo-American feminism while relational feminism has been more predominant in European feminism. Atlas Shrugged was published six years prior to Betty Friedan\u27s The Feminine Mystique , a text generally agreed upon as the starting point for second-wave feminism. Elizabeth Spelman\u27s work Inessential Woman exploded the second-wave monolithic approach to feminism, thus opening the door for third-wave feminism, a feminism focused upon individualized femininity as expressed through individual choices exercised through authentic lives. In this thesis, I argue that Atlas Shrugged , widely praised as Ayn Rand\u27s best novel due to its capitalistic, limited government message, offers fertile ground for feministic ideas. Dagny Taggart, at first glance, comes across simply as a masculine woman. Upon further investigation Dagny questions dualisms, societal conventions, and sexual roles that have created the subjugation of various people groups, especially females. Atlas Shrugged also points out the sanction offered by victims that propagates their disempowering circumstances. Underlying these themes is the idea of authentic freedom: the freedom from restriction coupled with the freedom to achieve one\u27s full potential. Atlas Shrugged acts as a precursor for third-wave feminism because of its emphasis upon individuality and its questioning of societal constructs. Galt\u27s Gulch symbolizes the type of free, empowering society desired by adherents of Ayn Rand and adherents of third-wave feminism

An Unknowable Ideal: Objectivism as a New Religious Movement and the Subsequent Institutionalization of Ayn Rand’s Ideas in American Politics

Thirty-five years after her death, Ayn Rand is hailed by conservatives as a great defender of capitalism and liberty. Prominent Republicans including Paul Ryan, Ron Paul, and Alan Greenspan credit Rand for inspiring their political careers. The radical conservative Tea Party movement used “Who is John Galt?” a famous quote from Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (1957), as a rallying cry against the new Obama administration. Every day, news reports about the Trump Administration feature “Ayn Rand” or “Atlas Shrugged” in their headlines. Objectivism, Ayn Rand’s philosophy, is deeply atheist, rejects altruism, and denounces American politics. Rand called conservatives corrupt collectivists with “no goal, no direction, no political principles, no social ideals, no intellectual values, [and] no leadership to offer anyone.” How did a woman who made these radical claims become a contemporary conservative messiah? Rand wrote her novels and philosophy in the 1950s and 1960s, a turbulent time for the United States, especially for American youth. Millennials were in search of spiritual solutions to reconcile social injustices, new technologies, and the government’s changing role. New religious movements (NRMs) that emphasize individualism, gender equality, and scientific reconciliation became popular among the youth of the counterculture generation. By treating Objectivism as a new religious movement and applying Weber’s theory of charismatic authority, it is evident that the Objectivist movement failed to routinize and institutionalize. Consequently, various aspects of contemporary society are able to claim Objectivists ideas without the weight of Ayn Rand’s radicalism.Bachelor of Art

\u3cem\u3eThe Fountainhead\u3c/em\u3e: The Evolving Roles of the Heroic Code into the Antiheroic Mode.

This study examines Russian-American author Ayn Rand\u27s novel The Fountainhead, as a development of a heroic personae in the twentieth century. The Fountainhead examines the traditional hero defined by Joseph Campbell and the antihero\u27s break from the traditional hero\u27s code. The information gathered comes from books, interviews, and journals discussing the studies of the traditional hero, the antihero, and The Fountainhead. Through the actions of the protaganist, Howard Roark, the antihero is explained and vindicated. Howard Roark\u27s role as the antihero is examined through Ayn Rand\u27s philosophy and by the roles of the other characters in the novel. The development and emergence of the antihero is further explained through the actions of Dominique Francon. This study allows the reader to gain an understanding of the evolving roles of the hero and the emergence of the twentieth century\u27s hero, the antihero