Ayn Rand

[Nessa]

Ayn Rand ([SIZE=2]IPA: /ˈaɪn ˈrænd/, [/SIZE]February 2 [SIZE=2][[/SIZE][SIZE=2]O.S.[/SIZE][SIZE=2] January 20][/SIZE] 1905 – March 6, 1982), born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Russian: Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум), was a Russian-born American novelist, philosopher,[1] playwright and screenwriter. She is widely known for her best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and for developing a philosophical system called Objectivism.
Rand advocated rational individualism and laissez-faire capitalism, categorically rejecting socialism, altruism, and religion. Her ideas remain both influential and controversial.

Full Wiki bio:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayn_Rand



Any other fans on FAD? I love her books, as well as her philisophical views. I have enlightened a few about her, now on to the rest of the board! Even if you don't agree with her philosophy, her books were so good!

[derbingle]

I too am a fan. I began reading her books in high school and was really impacted by her work. I agree with much of what she wrote and re-read her books from time to time. I do get off the Ayn bus when the religious views get involved. But the rest is cash money.

[John Connor]

I do agree with some of her ideas to a point but in many ways i find them unrealistic and they did not come from a healthy mind. She was a selfish woman who smoked herself to death.

[michael d]

Her ideas something you latch on to when you are young only to see the cracks in it as you get older. I've heard it mentioned that she part of an interesting living arrangement.

[NOVSTORM]

I liked to read her but damn she is sooooooo long winded.

[bellafreud]

Interesting. I hope they don't ruin the book...
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lionsgate shrugging
'Atlas' pic mapped by PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

Ayn Rand's most ambitious novel may finally be brought to the bigscreen after years of false starts. Lionsgate has picked up worldwide distribution rights to "Atlas Shrugged" from Howard and Karen Baldwin ("Ray"), who will produce with John Aglialoro.

As for stars, book provides an ideal role for an actress in lead character Dagny Taggart, so it's not a stretch to assume Rand enthusiast Angelina Jolie's name has been brought up. Brad Pitt, also a fan, is rumored to be among the names suggested for lead male character John Galt.
"Atlas Shrugged," which runs more than 1,100 pages, has faced a lengthy and circuitous journey to a film adaptation.

The Russian-born author's seminal tome, published in 1957, revolves around the economic collapse of the U.S. sometime in the future and espouses her individualistic philosophy of objectivism. The violent, apocalyptic ending has always posed a challenge but could prove especially so in the post-9/11 climate.

Howard Baldwin said some people have pigeonholed "Atlas" as better suited for a miniseries. That's why he sometimes pondered turning "Atlas" into two movies. In fact, a two-part script penned by James V. Hart ("Contact") for the Baldwins envisions "Atlas" as two pics, although it's likely to be reworked.

For years, producer Al Ruddy tried to make Rand's definitive book into a movie, attracting the interest of Clint Eastwood, Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway at one point.

But while Rand was still alive, she had script approval, complicating the process. After the author's death in 1982, Ruddy continued his efforts and, in 1999, he inked a pact to produce "Atlas" as a miniseries for TNT. Ultimately, the deal faltered.

Warner Bros. made "The Fountainhead," starring Gary Cooper as the maverick architect Howard Roark, in 1949.
Oliver Stone was attached to direct a remake of "Fountainhead" for Warner Bros. and Paramount, but the project has languished in development. Along the way, Pitt expressed interest in playing Roark.

[Giada]

The project still has problems, no production schedule as yet. Vadim Perelman, director, has left as of June 19, 2008.

Budget ranges is between 29M to 70M. The Baldwins own the rights to AS without restriction and can in effect do anything they want with a film.

I found this amusing The writer of the current screenplay, Russell Wallace was a divinity student at one time, and his hero is, "Jesus."

Wallace wrote the screenplay's for both Braveheart and Pearl Harbor. His approach was to write AS as a love story. Time set at 2 1/2 hours.

Lionsgate, Baldwin Productions and Plan B Productions are currently attached to the project. (Plan B is owned by Brad Pitt)

[mrnorrischangestrains]

What I remember the most in Atlas Shrugged is one character asking another what he would do if he were Atlas, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and then answers his own question with, "I'd tell him to shrug" later. That line is pure genius.

[Mach2]

Ann was probably a genius but she was Atheist. What good does atheism do you when life gets tough and you face demise? Any egghead can be an atheist when everything goes right. What did poor Ann have to comfort her in her dying days?

She was a big chested gal too but talked as if dirges were her favorite music.

[Nessa]

What I remember the most in Atlas Shrugged is one character asking another what he would do if he were Atlas, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and then answers his own question with, "I'd tell him to shrug" later. That line is pure genius.

I love that line.


Ayn, like most philosophers, isn't something you can really translate 100% into real life. But she was amazing, IMO.

[theotherlondon]

I used to enjoy reading Ayn Rand until the
right wing Conservatives took her words over.

[neilmpenny]

Never heard of her, but after the link Nessa sent I did order a book.

[theotherlondon]

Most people forget Ayn Rand grew up in the old
Communist USSR.
Just a fact for all the people on the right wing
who may not understand her books.

[Nessa]

She hated the Communists! Her book 'We the Living' is about a girl living in the post-revolution USSR. Very good book.

[Cemetry Gates]

I used to enjoy reading Ayn Rand until the
right wing Conservatives took her words over.

Yep, and usually the real jerks quote her.

[Taggerez]

Most people forget Ayn Rand grew up in the old
Communist USSR.
Just a fact for all the people on the right wing
who may not understand her books.

WTF does this even mean? I understand her ideas perfectly. She was an Uber capitalist/individualist/materialist and against all forms of leftism from fascism to Marxism to American "liberalism."

I was strongly influenced by Any Rand as a young kid, but I began rejecting large chunks of her philosophy by my mid-20s.

She was a powerful writer and thinker.

[MorbidMolly]

I read The Fountainhead so much I wore it out.....and some are right.....I guess I`ve outgrown some of the ideology too

[Long Gone Day]

Same..here.......read..her..a..lot..in..my..early..20s..when..I..was..taking..a..lot
of..philosophy..courses...and..as..I..got..older..and..saw..more..of..life...I..rejec ted
a..lot..of..her..ideas.......

[Danse Macabre]

I enjoy some of her writings and agree with some of her ideas.

[MorbidMolly]

Nice Ana......

[JestersKiss]

OK im intriged, gonna have to go to the library again, so i can stay informed on these thing, You peeps are too smart for me.

[Nessa]

I agree that some of her views are too extreme, but that's true with all philosophers. You just have to pick and choose.

[lulubaines]

I schlogged through Atlas Shrugged. I found the whole thing tedious. And The Fountainhead was hysterically funny to me. I'm a lightweight, I guess..

[Nessa]

It wasn't the philosophy, it was the lack of character development, driving narrative arc, the use of dry language etc. You can right about philosophy in fiction and make it more interesting than this.

But then again, the book is regarded as a classic, so I guess I'm in the wrong.

Oh there were definitely parts in that book that take some effort, like John Galt's zillion page soliloquoy. You're not in the wrong! Dostoyevsky is considered a classic author too, and I cannot read a word that man wrote.

[opheliahardin]

Oh there were definitely parts in that book that take some effort, like John Galt's zillion page soliloquoy. You're not in the wrong! Dostoyevsky is considered a classic author too, and I cannot read a word that man wrote.

Try the newer translations by Richard Pevear. Much more colloquial and far easier to read than dear Constance's dry-as-dust Victorian translations.

[Long Gone Day]

Dostoyevskys..The...Idiot..is..a..lighter..read..

[octobersky]

It wasn't the philosophy, it was the lack of character development, driving narrative arc, the use of dry language etc. You can right about philosophy in fiction and make it more interesting than this.

But then again, the book is regarded as a classic, so I guess I'm in the wrong.

I know you like books with a lot of description, such as a whole chapter on skin care.

[Mrs. Watson]

I never got into Ayn Rand. I tried, and I tried. It wasn't her philosophy, it was her dreary writing. I found her characters very one-dimensional, espeicially for a narrative driven book.

She did live quite an interesting life, though.

I can't imagine putting her works onto film successfully, no wonder it's still in production.

[Giada]

I would be surprised if the film is produced in the next two years. The film industry is in cutbacks.

Don't look for her philosophy in the film with Angelina Jolie as the star, and with international financing, universal themes will apply.

[theotherlondon]

I have read all of her books she was a very sad bitter person.
Who was homaphobic and may have been a Fascist in her day.
She wanted for Hitler to win over the USSR back in WW2.
The Country of her birth.

[Taggerez]

I have read all of her books she was a very sad bitter person.
Who was homaphobic and may have been a Fascist in her day.
She wanted for Hitler to win over the USSR back in WW2.
The Country of her birth.

This is absolute garbage. Ayn Rand was a foremost anti-fascist. Her whole philosophy rejected collectivist ideas like fascism, communism and social democracy (liberalism). As for Hitler vs Stalin, six of one , half a dozen of the other.

This is the second time you've posted this kind of BS, theotherlondon, are you an inveterate liar or just an ideological one?

[John Connor]

This is absolute garbage. Ayn Rand was a foremost anti-fascist. Her whole philosophy rejected collectivist ideas like fascism, communism and social democracy (liberalism). As for Hitler vs Stalin, six of one , half a dozen of the other.

This is the second time you've posted this kind of BS, theotherlondon, are you an inveterate liar or just an ideological one?

No matter what she claimed to be there is some truth to what theotherlondon says. She was very intolerant with anyone who disagreed with her. I also believe her physical unattractiveness had alot to do with her twisted logic. She was a mean spirited selfish bitch who smoked herself to death and rammed her philosphies down the throats of others all in pursuit of her own glorification.

[Taggerez]

No matter what she claimed to be there is some truth to what theotherlondon says. She was very intolerant with anyone who disagreed with her. I also believe her physical unattractiveness had alot to do with her twisted logic. She was a mean spirited selfish bitch who smoked herself to death and rammed her philosphies down the throats of others all in pursuit of her own glorification.

No, there is NO truth to what he said with regard to her beliefs about fascism -- none, zero, nada. End of story.

No doubt she held pretty fast to her philosophy and tended to trample those who opposed her ideas but so did thousands and thousands of people who held views totally opposite of hers. Was she a bitch? Yeah. Did she smoke? Yeah, so the eff what? As for your supposition that her looks correlate to her philosophy, you're entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts.

[theotherlondon]

Ayn Rand was certinaly very Homophobic and Anti-Poor.
Read the 1964 Playboy Interview or even her Wikipedia page
to name just a few things.
Also she thought the Man should always have the power
over a Woman in any kind of a relationship they may have.

[Giada]

AR is an example of the Modernism period, believed herself to be progressive yet she was not. She spoke in terms of, "good and evil," "moral/immoral."

AR believed it was acceptable for a woman to be interested in becoming a president, but not being a president.

She was highly authoritative, banishing from her queendom anyone who disagreed with her. AR told Murray Rothbard if his wife did not, "start smoking within 6 months," she would not be allowed to attend the meetings of the, "collective."

L Ron Hubbard of the self-appointed philosopher's club

[Nessa]

I find it hard to believe that in this day and age, a woman who was brilliant, thought for herself, and bowed to no one is still referred to in terms of her looks and 'bitchiness.' Not every woman - thank God - wants to be Pam Anderson.

That's from a woman who values her own mind - over looks, other's opinion's of her, etc.

And I smoke.

[John Connor]

I find it hard to believe that in this day and age, a woman who was brilliant, thought for herself, and bowed to no one is still referred to in terms of her looks and 'bitchiness.' Not every woman - thank God - wants to be Pam Anderson.

That's from a woman who values her own mind - over looks, other's opinion's of her, etc.

And I smoke.

She definitely brings out strong opinions in people. Frankly I'd rather hang out with Pam.

[opheliahardin]

AR is an example of the Modernism period, believed herself to be progressive yet she was not. She spoke in terms of, "good and evil," "moral/immoral."

These days, of course, we're so enlightened that there's no such thing as good or bad, eh?

[Guest]

I find it hard to believe that in this day and age, a woman who was brilliant, thought for herself, and bowed to no one is still referred to in terms of her looks and 'bitchiness.' Not every woman - thank God - wants to be Pam Anderson.

That's from a woman who values her own mind - over looks, other's opinion's of her, etc.

And I smoke.

You go !!!!

And I smoke too.

Actually she wrote a pretty good novel that I read ~ We the living.

It was anti communist & anti Fascist, and actually was pretty good. It was about freedom and hope.

But then, I never read any of her other works.

[Nessa]

'Anthem' was good too, and really short. I loved 'We the Living', I read it two or three times.

[Giada]

These days, of course, we're so enlightened that there's no such thing as good or bad, eh?

"Absolute morality," was her mantra . Disobey the queen and you are banished from the, "collective."

AR told Murray Rothbard if his wife did not start smoking within 6 months she would be banished from their group.

Oh, well

[Guest]

I read it two or three times.

So did I! (Are you my evil twin or my good twin?)

I'd forgotten about it till this thread.

[Nessa]

Are you my evil twin or my good twin?

Parasitic twin! LOL J/K

[Taggerez]

Ayn Rand was quite flawed, very controling and hardnosed. She was the epitome of a strong woman, yet no feminist ever puts her on a list of admirable women because she didn't tow the party line. Rand was a REAL rebel, a sincere individualist, not some light poser. She ran against the grain in a real way. Many of those who line up against her are just pale shadows. I can't accept much of her philosophy but I admire a good deal of it. She was a genuine thinker. I also admire her strength and her ability to endure.

Murray Rothbard is someone else I admired a great deal.

[Giada]

Ayn Rand was quite flawed, very controling and hardnosed. She was the epitome of a strong woman, yet no feminist ever puts her on a list of admirable women because she didn't tow the party line. Rand was a REAL rebel, a sincere individualist, not some light poser. She ran against the grain in a real way. Many of those who line up against her are just pale shadows. I can't accept much of her philosophy but I admire a good deal of it. She was a genuine thinker. I also admire her strength and her ability to endure.

Murray Rothbard is someone else I admired a great deal.

I've spent far too much time with Ayn Rand, her books, the Objectivist, than I should have without writing a book ... .

AR lacks critical thinking skills, was unfamiliar with the Scientific Method, retained a dictatorial/narcissistic posture, and was lacking in EQ skills.

She believed it was acceptable for a woman to desire the role of presidency but only a man could adequately fulfill the position.

I'll take my mom and grandmom who fought arduously for equal/civil rights. whereas the narcissitic AR fought for and promoted only herself

[Robert Vesco]

Obviously, Ayn Rand stirs up passionate emotions in people, both positive and negative. Here are a few Ayn Rand quotes, decide for yourself:

• Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.
• The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.
• While animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, man survives by adjusting his background to himself.
• Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.
• Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper's bell of an approaching looter.
• The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.
• The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.
• We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.
• When man learns to understand and control his own behavior as well as he is learning to understand and control the behavior of crop plants and domestic animals, he may be justified in believing that he has become civilized.

[MorbidMolly]

I adore her, even though I`ve outgrown, so to speak, some of her ideologies.....* refer to sig please * ( Thanks Ness )

[Nessa]

"Honor is self-esteem made visible in action."

"Just as life is an end in itself, so every living human being is an end in himself, not the means to the ends or the welfare of others — and, therefore, man must live for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself."

"The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live."

"When I die, I hope to go to Heaven, whatever the Hell that is."

"Words are a lens to focus one's mind."

[MorbidMolly]

"Honor is self-esteem made visible in action."

"Just as life is an end in itself, so every living human being is an end in himself, not the means to the ends or the welfare of others â?? and, therefore, man must live for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself."

"The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live."

"When I die, I hope to go to Heaven, whatever the Hell that is."

"Words are a lens to focus one's mind."

Now, how can you read these and not realize what an amazing author she was

[Belle]

I'm soldiering through the book now. I find it VERY prophetic and applicable to our times. The current president can NOT keep all the promises he made to the non-producers (the unable, the retired, the undeserving) without taking the resources painfully from the hide and soul of the active, productive, successful members of society. And when the sweat and product of their work is taken and given to looters who produce/contributes nothing........the producers will continue to work WHY???

'Atlas Shrugged': From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years by STEPHEN MOORE

Some years ago when I worked at the libertarian Cato Institute, we used to label any new hire who had not yet read "Atlas Shrugged" a "virgin." Being conversant in Ayn Rand's classic novel about the economic carnage caused by big government run amok was practically a job requirement. If only "Atlas" were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I'm confident that we'd get out of the current financial mess a lot faster.

Many of us who know Rand's work have noticed that with each passing week, and with each successive bailout plan and economic-stimulus scheme out of Washington, our current politicians are committing the very acts of economic lunacy that "Atlas Shrugged" parodied in 1957, when this 1,000-page novel was first published and became an instant hit.
Rand, who had come to America from Soviet Russia with striking insights into totalitarianism and the destructiveness of socialism, was already a celebrity. The left, naturally, hated her. But as recently as 1991, a survey by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club found that readers rated "Atlas" as the second-most influential book in their lives, behind only the Bible.
For the uninitiated, the moral of the story is simply this: Politicians invariably respond to crises -- that in most cases they themselves created -- by spawning new government programs, laws and regulations. These, in turn, generate more havoc and poverty, which inspires the politicians to create more programs . . . and the downward spiral repeats itself until the productive sectors of the economy collapse under the collective weight of taxes and other burdens imposed in the name of fairness, equality and do-goodism.
In the book, these relentless wealth redistributionists and their programs are disparaged as "the looters and their laws." Every new act of government futility and stupidity carries with it a benevolent-sounding title. These include the "Anti-Greed Act" to redistribute income (sounds like Charlie Rangel's promises soak-the-rich tax bill) and the "Equalization of Opportunity Act" to prevent people from starting more than one business (to give other people a chance). My personal favorite, the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Act," aims to restrict cut-throat competition between firms and thus slow the wave of business bankruptcies. Why didn't Hank Paulson think of that?
These acts and edicts sound farcical, yes, but no more so than the actual events in Washington, circa 2008. We already have been served up the $700 billion "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" and the "Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act." Now that Barack Obama is in town, he will soon sign into law with great urgency the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan." This latest Hail Mary pass will increase the federal budget (which has already expanded by $1.5 trillion in eight years under George Bush) by an additional $1 trillion -- in roughly his first 100 days in office.
The current economic strategy is right out of "Atlas Shrugged": The more incompetent you are in business, the more handouts the politicians will bestow on you. That's the justification for the $2 trillion of subsidies doled out already to keep afloat distressed insurance companies, banks, Wall Street investment houses, and auto companies -- while standing next in line for their share of the booty are real-estate developers, the steel industry, chemical companies, airlines, ethanol producers, construction firms and even catfish farmers. With each successive bailout to "calm the markets," another trillion of national wealth is subsequently lost. Yet, as "Atlas" grimly foretold, we now treat the incompetent who wreck their companies as victims, while those resourceful business owners who manage to make a profit are portrayed as recipients of illegitimate "windfalls."
When Rand was writing in the 1950s, one of the pillars of American industrial might was the railroads. In her novel the railroad owner, Dagny Taggart, an enterprising industrialist, has a FedEx-like vision for expansion and first-rate service by rail. But she is continuously badgered, cajoled, taxed, ruled and regulated -- always in the public interest -- into bankruptcy. Sound far-fetched? On the day I sat down to write this ode to "Atlas," a Wall Street Journal headline blared: "Rail Shippers Ask Congress to Regulate Freight Prices."
In one chapter of the book, an entrepreneur invents a new miracle metal -- stronger but lighter than steel. The government immediately appropriates the invention in "the public good." The politicians demand that the metal inventor come to Washington and sign over ownership of his invention or lose everything.
The scene is eerily similar to an event late last year when six bank presidents were summoned by Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to Washington, and then shuttled into a conference room and told, in effect, that they could not leave until they collectively signed a document handing over percentages of their future profits to the government. The Treasury folks insisted that this shakedown, too, was all in "the public interest."
Ultimately, "Atlas Shrugged" is a celebration of the entrepreneur, the risk taker and the cultivator of wealth through human intellect. Critics dismissed the novel as simple-minded, and even some of Rand's political admirers complained that she lacked compassion. Yet one pertinent warning resounds throughout the book: When profits and wealth and creativity are denigrated in society, they start to disappear -- leaving everyone the poorer.
One memorable moment in "Atlas" occurs near the very end, when the economy has been rendered comatose by all the great economic minds in Washington. Finally, and out of desperation, the politicians come to the heroic businessman John Galt (who has resisted their assault on capitalism) and beg him to help them get the economy back on track. The discussion sounds much like what would happen today:
Galt: "You want me to be Economic Dictator?"
Mr. Thompson: "Yes!"
"And you'll obey any order I give?"
"Implicitly!"
"Then start by abolishing all income taxes."
"Oh no!" screamed Mr. Thompson, leaping to his feet. "We couldn't do that . . . How would we pay government employees?"
"Fire your government employees."
"Oh, no!"
Abolishing the income tax. Now that really would be a genuine economic stimulus. But Mr. Obama and the Democrats in Washington want to do the opposite: to raise the income tax "for purposes of fairness" as Barack Obama puts it.
David Kelley, the president of the Atlas Society, which is dedicated to promoting Rand's ideas, explains that "the older the book gets, the more timely its message." He tells me that there are plans to make "Atlas Shrugged" into a major motion picture -- it is the only classic novel of recent decades that was never made into a movie. "We don't need to make a movie out of the book," Mr. Kelley jokes. "We are living it right now."

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page W11 Jan 9 2009