Objectivism and libertarianism explained

Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism has been, and continues to be, a major influence on the right-libertarian movement, particularly libertarianism in the United States. Many right-libertarians justify their political views using aspects of Objectivism.[1]

Philosophical disagreements

Aggression

Some right-libertarians, including Murray Rothbard and Walter Block, hold the view that the non-aggression principle is an irreducible concept: it is not the logical result of any given ethical philosophy, but rather is self-evident as any other axiom is. Rand argued that liberty was a precondition of virtuous conduct,[2] but that her non-aggression principle itself derived from a complex set of previous knowledge and values. For this reason, Objectivists refer to the non-aggression principle as such while libertarians who agree with Rothbard's argument call it "the non-aggression axiom".

Rothbard and other anarcho-capitalists hold that government requires non-voluntary taxation to function and that in all known historical cases, the state was established by force rather than social contract.[3] Thus, they consider the establishment and maintenance of the night-watchman state supported by Objectivists to be in violation of the non-aggression principle. On the other hand, Rand believed that government can in principle be funded through voluntary means.[4] Voluntary financing notwithstanding, some libertarians consider that a government would by definition still violate individual rights (commit aggression) by enforcing a monopoly over a given territory.[5]

Objectivism's rejection of the "primitive"

In her biography , Jennifer Burns notes how Rand's position that "Native Americans were savages" and that as a result "European colonists had a right to seize their land because native tribes did not recognize individual rights" was one of the views that "particularly outraged libertarians".[6] Burns also notes how Rand's position that "Palestinians had no rights and that it was moral to support Israel, the sole outpost of civilization in a region ruled by barbarism" was also a controversial position amongst libertarians, who at the time were a large portion of Rand's fan base.[6]

Foreign policy

Libertarians and Objectivists have disagreed about matters of foreign policy. Following the Arab–Israeli War of 1973, Rand denounced Arabs as "primitive" and "one of the least developed cultures" who "are practically nomads". She said Arab resentment for Israel was a result of the Jewish state being "the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent" and referred to the Israelis as "civilized men fighting savages". Later Objectivists, such as Leonard Peikoff, David Kelley, and Yaron Brook, have continued to hold pro-Israel positions since Rand's death.[7] [8]

Most scholars of the right-libertarian Cato Institute have opposed military intervention against Iran,[9] while the Objectivist Ayn Rand Institute has supported forceful intervention in Iran.[10] [11]

Rand's influence on libertarianism

United States Libertarian Party's first candidate for President John Hospers credited Rand as a major force in shaping his own political beliefs.[12] David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, an American libertarian think tank, described Rand's work as "squarely within the libertarian tradition" and that some libertarians are put off by "the starkness of her presentation and by her cult following".[13] Milton Friedman described Rand as "an utterly intolerant and dogmatic person who did a great deal of good".[14] One Rand biographer quoted Murray Rothbard as saying that he was "in agreement basically with all [Rand's] philosophy" and that it was Rand who had "convinced him of the theory of natural rights".[15] Rothbard would later become a particularly harsh critic of Rand, writing in The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult:

Some Objectivists have argued that Objectivism is not limited to Rand's own positions on philosophical issues and are willing to work with and identify with the libertarian movement. This stance is most clearly identified with David Kelley (who separated from the Ayn Rand Institute because of disagreements over the relationship between Objectivists and libertarians), Chris Sciabarra, Barbara Branden (Nathaniel Branden's former wife) and others. Kelley's Atlas Society has focused on building a closer relationship between "open Objectivists" and the libertarian movement.[16]

Rand's view of libertarians

Rand condemned libertarianism as being a greater threat to freedom and capitalism than both modern liberalism and conservatism.[17] Rand regarded Objectivism as an integrated philosophical system. In contrast, libertarianism is a political philosophy which confines its attention to matters of public policy. For example, Objectivism argues positions in metaphysics, epistemology and ethics whereas libertarianism does not address such questions. Rand believed that political advocacy could not succeed without addressing what she saw as its methodological prerequisites. Rand rejected any affiliation with the libertarian movement and many other Objectivists have done so as well.[18]

Of libertarians, Rand said:

In a 1981 interview, Rand described libertarians as "a monstrous, disgusting bunch of people" who "plagiarize my ideas when that fits their purpose".[17]

Responding to a question about the Libertarian Party of the United States in 1976, Rand said:

Rapprochement

Ayn Rand Institute board member John Allison spoke at the Cato Club 200 Retreat in September 2012,[19] contributed "The Real Causes of the Financial Crisis" to Cato's Letter[20] and spoke at Cato's Monetary Conference in November 2011.[21]

On June 25, 2012, the Cato Institute announced that Allison would become its next president.[22] In Cato's public announcement, Allison was described as a "revered libertarian". In communication to Cato employees, he wrote: "I believe almost all the name calling between libertarians and objectivists is irrational. I have come to appreciate that all objectivists are libertarians, but not all libertarians are objectivists".[23]

On October 15, 2012, Brook explained the changes to The American Conservative:

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Rand, Ayn, For the New Intellectual (1961) Random House; see also, Peikoff, Leonard, Objectivisim: the Philosophy of Ayn Rand (1991) Dutton.
  2. Rand . Ayn . From My 'Future File' . The Ayn Rand Letter . 3 . 26 . September 23, 1974 . 4–5.
  3. Web site: Anatomy of the State: What the State Is Not . Rothbard . Murray N. . Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature and Other Essays . 1974 . September 13, 2014 . November 8, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141108151541/http://mises.org/easaran/chap3.asp . live .
  4. Web site: Taxation. Ayn Rand Lexicon. July 1, 2015. July 2, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150702123739/http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/taxation.html. live.
  5. https://www.lewrockwell.com/1970/01/roy-a-childs-jr/objectivism-and-the-state-an-open-letter-to-ayn-rand/ "Objectivism and the State An Open Letter to Ayn Rand"
  6. Book: Burns, Jennifer . Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right . New York . . 2009 . 978-0-19-532487-7 . 313665028 . 266.
  7. Book: Weiss, Gary. Ayn Rand Nation: The Hidden Struggle for America's Soul. Gary Weiss. New York. St. Martin's Press. 2012. 978-0-312-59073-4. registration. 126–127.
  8. Book: Walker, Jeff . The Ayn Rand Cult . The Ayn Rand Cult . La Salle, Illinois . Open Court Publishing . 1999 . 978-0-8126-9390-4 . 287.
  9. Web site: The Bottom Line on Iran: The Costs and Benefits of Preventive War versus Deterrence. Justin. Logan. December 4, 2006. Cato Institute. May 28, 2018. September 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190901164013/https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/bottom-line-iran-costs-benefits-preventive-war-versus-deterrence. live.
  10. See, e.g., Peikoff, Leonard, "End States That Sponsor Terrorism," October 2, 2001
  11. http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?id=5336&news_iv_ctrl=1221&page=NewsArticle "Iran and the 'Axis of Evil,'"
  12. Hospers, John, Libertarianism, Nash, 1971; "Conversations with Ayn Rand," Liberty, July 1990, pp. 23–36, and Sept. 1990, pp. 42–52; and, "Memories of Ayn Rand," Full Context, May 1998.
  13. Web site: Boaz . David . Ayn Rand at 100 . February 2, 2005 . August 4, 2009 . October 11, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111011014943/http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3661 . live .
  14. Best of Both Worlds . Doherty . Brian . Brian Doherty (journalist) . Reason . June 1995 . May 10, 2009 . October 11, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141011005521/http://reason.com/archives/1995/06/01/best-of-both-worlds . live .
  15. Branden, Barbara, The Passion of Ayn Rand, Doubleday, 1984, p. 413; according to his biographer, Justin Raimondo, Rothbard wrote a letter to Rand declaring, "Atlas Shrugged is the greatest novel ever written," Raimondo, Justin, An Enemy of the State: The Life of Murray N. Rothbard, Prometheus Books, 2000, p. 118, cf. Rothbard, Murray, "Letters: the Philosophy of Ayn Rand," The National Review, January 18, 1958, p. 71.
  16. https://www.sflacademy.org/introduction-to-objectivism/ "Introduction to Objectivism"
  17. Web site: FAQ. www.aynrand.org. March 29, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20140107232919/http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_campus_libertarians. January 7, 2014. dead.
  18. Schwartz, Peter, "Libertarianism: the Perversion of Liberty," in The Voice of Reason, L. Peikoff, editor (1988) New American Library, pp. 311–333.
  19. Web site: Cato Institute . Self Ownership and the Financial Crisis . September 19, 2012 . 2011-09-30 . March 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190327135629/https://www.cato.org/multimedia/daily-podcast/self-ownership-financial-crisis . live .
  20. Web site: Cato Institute . The Real Causes of the Financial Crisis . September 19, 2012 . October 30, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121030070833/http://www.cato.org/pubs/catosletter/catosletterv10n1.pdf . live .
  21. Web site: The Fed's Destruction of Wealth . Cato Institute . September 19, 2012 . December 28, 2011 . March 27, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102318/https://www.cato.org/multimedia/daily-podcast/fedas-destruction-wealth . live .
  22. Web site: Cato Institute and Shareholders Reach Agreement in Principle . June 25, 2012 . September 19, 2012 . Cato Institute . August 28, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120828173317/http://www.cato.org/pressroom.php?display=news&id=209 . live .
  23. Web site: Slate . Cato Shrugged: Panic About An Incoming Leader's Admiration for Ayn Rand . David . Weigel . August 12, 2012 . September 19, 2012 . December 3, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181203104311/http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/08/30/cato_shrugged_panic_about_an_incoming_leader_s_admiration_for_ayn_rand.html . live . Allison leaves "objectivists" uncapitalized.