History Creator / AYNRAND

Born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum to middle-class Jewish parents in St Petersburg, she seems to have been [[FriendlessBackground a rather lonely child]] who justified her social isolation [[InvokedTrope by claiming a]] [[IntelligenceEqualsIsolation unique(ly alienating) intellectual superiority over her peers]]. She [[UsefulNotes/TheSovietTwenties studied undergraduate history for free at Petrograd State University]], graduated in 1923, went on to study at the State Technicum for Screen Arts, and came up with the name "Ayn Rand". In 1925 she secured an exit Visa for the purposes of visiting her American relatives in 1926, which she seems to have significantly overstayed while applying for American citizenship.

* Creator/BradBird has a famously [[MisaimedFandom complicated relationship]] with Objectivism and other such Randian philosophies. Characters in his films typically deviate from the rest of their societies and societal standards due to their having some noted skill or being something that makes them unique, with either their ill-informed government or social environment trying to either force them into conformity or destroy them. ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' alone has been called a better adaptation of ''Literature/TheFountainhead'' than the actual movie adaptation while libertarians have interpreted ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' as an individualist allegory. Meanwhile, ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' and ''Film/{{Tomorrowland}}'' seem to carry a philosophy that some people are just objectively better than others and should be respected as such. It's worth noting, however, than in all of these cases, the main characters are ''completely altruistic'', using their individual specialness exclusively for the benefit of others rather than personal gain. That said, while Bird insists than any Objectivist readings of his work are completely unintentional, he ''is'' a self-proclaimed centrist, so the individualist aspect isn't completely benign (though he'd later change his mind and say he leans more towards liberal).

She played a nameless extra with the 1927 film ''Film/TheKingOfKings'', where she met actor Frank O'Connor. The two married in 1929 and remained together until his death in 1979.

While living with her relatives, she worked on creating a philosophy which justified her loneliness and absolved her of the expectations placed upon her by the investment that her family and the Soviet state had made in her: Objectivism, a worldview which championed absolute selfishness (a term she used to mean the ethical and intellectual betterment of one's self) as the definition of moral goodness. Her early works of philosophical fiction included ''We the Living'' (1936) and ''Literature/{{Anthem}}'' (1938), but ''Literature/TheFountainhead'' (1943) was her first success (given word of mouth in Classical Liberal circles). The success of ''The Fountainhead'' led to her penning of ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' (1957), a novel indisputably [[{{Doorstopper}} capable of stopping doors]][[note]]A famous apocryphal quote has Dorothy Parker reviewing the book and noting, "This is not a novel to be set aside lightly. It should be hurled with great force."[[/note]] and leading to the creation of the Ayn Rand Society (which still exists).

The 1960s saw a revival of interest in [[UsefulNotes/EconomicTheories Classical Economics]]. So-called ''Neoclassical'' economics asserted that in theory, structuring the economy to maximise the profits of the upper classes was the best way to create a democratic meritocracy. So-called ''Austrian'' economics asserted that an unregulated economy was the ''only'' moral alternative to a Communist-style Command-Economy. Whether or not the political economy that resulted was meritocratic, ''Austrian'' economics maintained that all alternatives were immoral because of their 'violation' of individual rights beyond what was strictly necessary for a society to exist at all (through taxation, law and order, etc). Ayn Rand's philosophy of ''Objectivism'' is best understood as a complement to the ''Austrian'' school championed by her contemporary Ludwig von Mises, but with a greater socio-political focus.

Ayn Rand and Objectivism are both very polarizing subjects on the internet and elsewhere. Backdraft often results from mentions of her work, largely because of her philosophy but also because of [[AuthorFilibuster the poor quality of the prose demonstrated in "Atlas Shrugged" and elsewhere]]. Ironically, among academic philosophers her work is one of the few subjects that ''isn't'' particularly polarizing - nearly everyone hates it. When the first academic book about Rand's philosophy appeared in 1971, its author declared writing about Rand "a treacherous undertaking" that could lead to "guilt by association" merely for taking her seriously. [[RightForTheWrongReasons Even philosophers like Robert Nozick who agree with most of her conclusions think her arguments for them are incoherent]].

Regardless, the socio-economic and political implications of her philosophy mean that it has continued to receive heavy funding and promotion. Think-tanks founded by Objectivism's proponents, such as [[http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=index&cvridirect=true the Ayn Rand Institute]] and [[http://www.objectivistcenter.org/ The Atlas Society]], have promoted Objectivist ideas for many decades, and lobbyists have successfully put her books on the political philosophy courses in several colleges in the USA. That said, Objectivism is not entirely an "{{Astroturf}}" ('fake grassroots') movement. There was a genuine upswing of popular interest in Rand and other Neoliberal and Austrian philosophers such as Hayek, Friedman, and von Mises in the period between the Savings and Loan Bust of 1986-1995 and the Great Recession of 2008, and particularly between 1995 and the popping of the dotcom bubble in 2001.

Unfortunately, given the polarizing nature of Rand's work, this page can be caught up in an Administrivia/EditWar from time to time. To make it clear, this page is NOT about [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike what your evaluation of Rand, her works or her ideas is]]. Any contributions should be kept civil regardless of standpoint.

* MoralMyopia: In spite of criticizing the government for their perceived abuse of power and of favoring "parasites", Rand didn't believe the native americans had any rights to their lands due to them not making use of their property, viewing the invasion of their lands as a [[WhiteMansBurden right of those who are bringing a element of "civilization" to them.]]

* At the start and end of ''[[Franchise/{{Batman}} Batman: Cacophony]]'', ComicBook/TheJoker is seen reading the Fountainhead, though he gets interrupted both times. At the start he calls it a kneeslapper; [[ComicBook/{{Deadshot}} Deadshot]] tells him not to mock it, since it's one of his personal favorites.

*** Ironically, Spock often expressed his belief that "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few", which is Utilitarianism.[[note]]As mentioned elsewhere, however, it's doubtful that Rand would have a problem with [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic Sacrifices]], however, as her heroes' 'selfish' goal of self-betterment could easily require one of these, as when Dominique Francon is ready to give up her career in order to help keep the newspaper The Banner running and defend her true love in Literature/TheFountainhead.[[/note]] Ultimately, he sacrificed his life to save the entire crew in ''Star Trek II'' (though the term "sacrifice" is a misnomer, since he would have perished anyway along with the rest of the ship and crew, regardless of whether he acted or not). Then again, this was turned around in ''Star Trek III'', in which the crew (after finding out that they can return Spock to life) sacrifice their careers to save him, because as Kirk says, the needs of the one were were more important than the many (and again, "sacrifice" is a strong word because [=McCoy=] is also doomed if they fail to act). Following from this, the revived Spock in ''Star Trek IV'' agrees that they must risk their entire mission to save Chekov, because it is the human thing to do (though once again, the "risk" is questionable). So Spock actually grappled with this question at length: whether the needs of the many outweigh those of the few, and how to reconcile the choice with logic and/or emotion. There's an [[https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2013/09/spocks-illogic-the-needs-of-the-many-outweigh-the-needs-of-the-few/ interesting Objectivist column]] that debates Spock's actions.

* In this musical cartoon "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAYf9YJSKXc With Animation You Can!]]" Creator/HarryPartridge lists flying "a giant, robotic Ann Rand" as one of the many things once can accomplish via the medium of animation.

* The Literature/ChaosTimeline has a rough equivalent with Sophie Stein: both were born Jewish but later became atheists, had to flee from a leftist dictatorship, changed their name, took radical anti-leftist positions and are very controversial.

** The earlier episode ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E2AStreetcarNamedMarge A Streetcar Named Marge]]'' had the "Ayn Rand School for Tots" where Maggie is briefly sent. Posters reading "A is A" and "Helping is Futile" are hung inside, with pacifiers banned and confiscated, in hopes to "develop the bottle within." This causes Maggie to lead the other babies in a revolt which parodies both ''Film/TheGreatEscape'' and ''Film/TheBirds''.

* FormerChildStar Creator/MaraWilson parodied Rand and the concept of the SexyWhateverOutfit by posted a photo of her in a "[[http://bestforfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Mara-Wilson-Ayn-Rand.jpg Sexy Ayn Rand]]" costume.

Unfortunately, given the polarizing nature of Rand's work, this page can be caught up in an Administrivia/EditWar from time to time. To make it clear, this page is NOT about [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike what your evaluation of Rand, her works or her ideas is]]. Any contributions should observe the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement.

* The character Ann Rearden of ''WebVideo/{{Bossfight}}'' is a parody of her; depicting her as the jaded executive of a video game company that makes mindless {{Jiggle Show}}s, but who has a HeelFaceTurn when Princess Sparklemuffin convinces her to embrace her love of musical theatre. She's named after Lilian Rearden from ''Literature/AtlasShrugged''.

* PersonalDictionary: Rand argued that totalitarianism was the truest expression of altruism, and therefore altruism is the greatest possible evil, which makes no sense until you learn that she used the word “altruism” as term of art meaning “to act like a eusocial insect and give up EVERYTHING for the collective”. Of course, [[StrawmanPolitical no defender of altruism uses the word to mean anything like that]]. Similarly, in Rand’s usage “selfishness” doesn’t mean “ItsAllAboutMe” so much as “defending and believing in personal liberty”, particularly to shore up her claim that property rights are the only real rights.

* Neil Peart of Music/{{Rush}} originally [[AuthorAppeal put a lot of Objectivism into the band's lyrics]] and gave her a thank you credit in the liner notes of ''2112'', but as of the remaster removed it and has moved away from such vehement support (though when asked he says there ''are'' still areas where he agrees with her).

Rand spent a number of years leading a cult in Greenwich Village in the fifties and sixties. The members of her Objectivist collective were forbidden contact with the outside world except as absolutely necessary for work or daily life. Outside of work, they associated only with other members of the cult, watching movies and tv shows that Rand approved. Anyone who came to deviate from Rand's beliefs would be subjected to "scientific psychotherapy" so that they could return to "objectively correct moral beliefs) (they were locked in a room and shouted at until they agreed to behave). If anyone deviated too much or was incorrigible in their deviance, they would be ex-communicated and tried in absentia, with their closest friends required to write out a list of all the things they hated about them and state them in front of the collective. Given Rand's stated belief that education is a paramount good, it's ironic that education was what most often led to excommunication; Rand believed herself to be far better educated than she actually was, and when cult members pursued education and corrected her on her errors in things like architecture, engineering, chemistry, etc. she responded with excommunication. This eventually led to a split between Rand and the Pope of Objectivism, Nathaniel Branden, a psychotherapist, a much more charismatic individual and better communicator than Rand, and her lover. He didn't like her hypocrisy and narcissism, she didn't like that everyone listened to him more than her. After he left, the cult fell apart, and now remains only as sad pleas for money in the final pages of her poorly written {{Doorstopper}}s.

Though her works have their own pages, it might be worthwhile to note here Ayn Rand's relationship to the [[StrawCharacter Strawman Political]] trope. Indeed, her villains are very much Strawman Politicals. For example, in ''Atlas Shrugged'', they simply want to feed off of the talent of the gifted. Ayn Rand's personal diaries note that each protagonist is planned to show either why they will succeed because of their adherence to Objectivist principles, or why they will fail because of their non-adherence, or doubt, or acceptance of anti-Objectivist principles such as Comtean altruism. These notes also compare each character to the [[UptoEleven Ultimate Objectivist Messiah, John Galt]]. So in essence, even her protagonists can be considered Strawman Politicals.

She played a nameless extra with the 1927 film ''Film/TheKingOfKings'', where she met her husband Frank O'Connor, whom she remained married to until his death in 1979.

The above is especially true for Rand's later writing. Comparison of her three novels could indicate a clear deterioration in the quality of characters representing the opposite ideology. Her first novel ''We, The Living'' is very harsh on Communism as an ideology and on the Soviet Union as a regime, but it has a major character, Andrei Taganov, who is a Communist, senior member of the Party, and who is very much a Good Guy: heroic, idealistic, generous, in fact a [[KnightInShiningArmour Knight In Shining Armour]] and [[BodyguardCrush his lady's bodyguard]] - he is deeply in love with the book's female protagonist who returns his love quite a bit and is always torn between him and the other man in her life who is anti-Communist (and Rand admitted in the forward to the book that this character to a considerable degree represents herself!). In her second book, ''The Fountainhead'', the character who represents Roosevelt's New Deal, Ellsworth Toohey, is an unquestioned Bad Guy, a Man You [[LoveToHate Love To Hate]] - but he is a brilliant ChessMaster, always spinning webs of very clever and complicated Conspiracy, in short a WorthyOpponent with whom the female protagonist has (at least in the early parts of the book) a complicated LoveHateRelationship. There is also Peter Keating, who's basically a sympathetic AntiVillain with an equally complicated relationship with the main hero, Howard Roark. In ''Atlas Shrugged'' - which Rand herself considered her best, but not everybody agrees - most characters representing the opposing political and social point of view are miserable, disgusting nothings, who never do or say a single thing deserving of the reader's appreciation. (There are exceptions: Dr. Robert Stadler is genuinely brilliant and initially has better impulses---in their first discussion Dagny Taggart looks at him with admiration at one point; his self-betrayal is shown as a tragedy. Fred Kinnan is bluntly honest, to the discomfort of the other villains, and admires John Galt after meeting him face to face.)

Quote changed per quotes thread (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1327331003042025100&page=195#4864). If you want to change it, bring it up in the thread.

%% Quote changed per quotes thread (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1327331003042025100&page=195#4864). If you want to change it, bring it up in the thread.

Ayn Rand (February 2, (January 20 in the Julian calendar) 1905 – March 6, 1982) was a popular yet controversial writer from the latter half of the 20th century, and the creator of UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}}, a self-proclaimed philosophy which she expressed in her fiction -- especially ''Literature/TheFountainhead'' and ''Literature/AtlasShrugged.'' She also wrote the screenplay for the film of ''The Fountainhead'', but wasn't too happy with the final film (citing production design and other issues but mostly resenting the collaborative nature of film-making altogether).

The above is especially true for Rand's later writing. Comparison of her three novels could indicate a clear deterioration in the quality of characters representing the opposite ideology. Her first novel ''We, The Living'' is very harsh on Communism as an ideology and on the Soviet Union as a regime, but it has a major character, Andrei Taganov, who is a Communist, senior member of the Party, and who is very much a Good Guy: heroic, idealistic, generous, in fact a [[KnightInShiningArmour Knight In Shining Armour]] and [[BodyguardCrush his lady's bodyguard]] - he is deeply in love with the book's female protagonist who returns his love quite a bit and is always torn between him and the other man in her life who is anti-Communist (and Rand admitted in the forward to the book that this character to a considerable degree represents herself!). In her second book, ''The Fountainhead'', the character who represents Roosevelt's New Deal, Ellsworth Toohey, is an unquestioned Bad Guy, a Man You [[LoveToHate Love To Hate]] - but he is a brilliant ChessMaster, always spinning webs of very clever and complicated Conspiracy, in short a WorthyOpponent with whom the female protagonist has (at least in the early parts of the book) a complicated LoveHateRelationship. There is also Peter Keating, who's basically a sympathetic AntiVillain with an equally complicated relationship with the main hero, Howard Roark. In ''Atlas Shrugged'' - which Rand herself considered her best, but not everybody agrees - all characters representing the opposing political and social point of view are miserable, disgusting nothings, who never do or say a single thing deserving of the reader's appreciation.

[[quoteright:255:[[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ayn_rand_stamp.jpg]]]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' Galatea's MadScientist "father" [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20071222.html gave her books]] by Ayn Rand and Creator/FriedrichNietzsche to read in her [[YoungerThanTheyLook brief youth.]] This gave her an... [[SocialDarwinist interesting]] [[{{Ubermensch}} outlook]] [[NietzscheWannabe on life.]]

* NotSoDifferent:
** Ayn Rand's Objectivism is very similar to UsefulNotes/{{Existentialism}} as both put a lot of emphasis in metaphysics, values the reason of existence, and free will. The major difference is that while existentialism emphasizes ''subjectivity'' in finding a purpose in life, ''Objectivism'', as the name implies, values objectivity instead. Ayn Rand mentioned that she would have called her philosophical beliefs "existentialism" if the name wasn't taken already.
** Many have noted that Ayn Rand's work is an "inverted" Marxism and that Rand tried to channel a militancy and ideological formulation in her ideas patterned on Bolshevism. Like the Communists, she organized cells, read her literature, and was intolerant of criticism and deviationists. She also co-operated with UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode [[https://newrepublic.com/article/69239/wealthcare-0 to ensure a pro-business party line remained in place]]. Ayn Rand seems to dislike the [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans USSR not for their means]] but for their ends.
** This is also apparent in the way she tends to lump opposed ideologies together whose own adherents see themselves as very different from each other. For example, she rejected both religion and Marxism on the ground that they were irrationally altruistic, and many of the academic faux-intellectuals in ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'' are more post-modern than Marxist (Marxism being a modernist grand narrative about class struggle, and post-modernism being a rejection of modernist grand narratives). Compare Alt-Lite figures such as Jordan Petersen, who similarly broadbrush disparate ideologies they do not share.

Objectivism is distinguished not just by its rejection of collective identity including family, gender, race, community, socialism, and communism (but not nationalism, [[ImmigrantPatriotism as she came to love the USA as "the only moral country in the history of the world"]], although this only applied to America; Rand considered the film "A Song to Remember" collectivist propaganda because it has Frédéric Chopin sacrifice himself for a patriotic cause) but by its rejection of Auguste Comte's definition of 'altruism' (sacrifice of an individual to benefit other individuals).[[note]]It is worth noting that [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic Sacrifices]] are by no means discouraged in this system; only in Objectivist terminology they would not be called sacrifices, since they involve giving one's life or comfort for something one values more, which is selfish by Ayn Rand's definition.[[/note]] She rejected virtually all historical philosophers save Aristotle and virtually all her contemporaries except Ludwig von Mises, and expressed disdain even for the political movements which embraced her ideas - such as the USA's Libertarian Party, or as she called them, "hippies of the right". (Ayn Rand did, however, admire one contemporary, considering William Hickman "a brilliant, unusual, exceptional boy", a man responsible for "the most horrible crime of the 1920s", the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Marion_Parker death of a girl named Marion Parker]] in 1927 and speculates about [[YMMV/Joker2019 the society that turned him into "a purposeless monster."]].)

The above is especially true for Rand's later writing. Comparison of her three novels could indicate a clear deterioration in the quality of characters representing the opposite ideology. Her first novel, "We, The Living" is very harsh on Communism as an ideology and on the Soviet Union as a regime, but it has a major character, Andrei Taganov, who is a Communist, senior member of the Party, and who is very much a Good Guy: heroic, idealistic, generous, in fact a [[KnightInShiningArmour Knight In Shining Armour]] and [[BodyguardCrush his lady's bodyguard]] - he is deeply in love with the book's female protagonist who returns his love quite a bit and is always torn between him and the other man in her life who is anti-Communist (and Rand admitted in the forward to the book that this character to a considerable degree represents herself!). In her second book, ''The Fountainhead'', the character who represents Roosevelt's New Deal, Ellsworth Toohey, is an unquestioned Bad Guy, a Man You [[LoveToHate Love To Hate]] - but he is a brilliant ChessMaster, always spinning webs of very clever and complicated Conspiracy, in short a WorthyOpponent with whom the female protagonist has (at least in the early parts of the book) a complicated LoveHateRelationship. There is also Peter Keating, who's basically a sympathetic AntiVillain with an equally complicated relationship with the main hero, Howard Roark. In ''"Atlas Shrugged"'' - which Rand herself considered her best, but not everybody agrees - all characters representing the opposing political and social point of view are miserable, disgusting nothings, who never do or say a single thing deserving of the reader's appreciation.

Unfortunately, Rand as a figure generates intense feelings of either seething hatred or ([[http://www.amazon.com/Ayn-Rand-Cult-Jeff-Walker/dp/0812693906 some]] [[http://www.2think.org/02_2_she.shtml say]]) cultish adoration and as such debates over the content of her ideas have a general tendency to spill over into debates about her as a person. For instance, several Rand critics question [[http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/60120/ her ability to stay true to her own principles]]. She may have also received [[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-ford/ayn-rand-and-the-vip-dipe_b_792184.html government aid]] after getting lung cancer, but Rand herself argued that if someone had paid taxes to fund these systems then they "have a clear right to any refund of their own money" (see [[http://www.reason.com/blog/2011/01/30/rand-on-the-dole here]]). In fact, she managed to spin it that paradoxically (and conveniently) it is the very people who object to government aid who have the right to have it.[[note]]The argument being that those who oppose welfare are having their money taken from them by force, entitling them to "their money back." Whereas those who support such social programs contribute willingly in the hope of some return, ipso facto rendering them "parasites" and unworthy of help.[[/note]] These aspects of Rand's character have even been criticized by several Objectivists. While Rand's personal eccentricities do not necessarily prove anything about the validity or invalidity of her philosophy, Rand did [[http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/60120/index2.html once]] point to herself as proof that her philosophy could work in the real world.