Ayn Rand not only advocated the concept of Objectivism in her book “Atlas Shrugged,” but lived that philosophy with rare passion and boldness.
There are many things to admire about Ayn Rand’s achievements. She came to New York alone in 1925 as an impoverished immigrant. Over time, she became an admired author, achieved notable celebrity status, and built a profitable intellectual empire. Her influence remains extraordinary to this day, and her books are still in print. One of her novels, “The Fountainhead,” was made into a popular movie. (Rand wrote the script, at her insistence.) Her magnum opus, “Atlas Shrugged,” was released as a modern film (Part 1), nearly thirty years after her death.
But it is her philosophy, Objectivism, that was (and still is) Rand’s most powerful influence on society. Once again, there are things to admire about Objectivism. A partial but dedicated understanding of noble values was the foundation of Rand’s thought. Since the time of Plato, the familiar triad of eternal values has been generally recognized as truth, beauty, and goodness. Rand extolled truth and praised uncompromising integrity. And she lived by that code; she was true to his beliefs. Rand also embraced beauty, upholding challenging benchmarks of excellence… “The only sin is doing wrong.” Returning to the third classical principle, that of kindness or caring, Ayn Rand set aside this meta-value. She was a cruel and callous narcissist who damaged many lives. And herein lies the weak point of objectivist philosophy.
Shortly after Ayn Rand’s death in 1982 at the age of 77, one of her estranged associates, psychologist Nathaniel Branden, called Ayn’s publicist of thirty years. He asked her how she felt about the loss of Ayn Rand. The publicist replied, “I don’t feel much of anything. Any love I had for Ayn is long gone. I can’t feel anything for her achievements anymore. I’m too angry at her cruelty and the damage she did.” . she caused so many people who took care of her.”
Truth and beauty (or integrity and excellence) are fundamental to material success. However, kindness is perhaps the most important metavalue of all. It is also the most challenging, because one cannot practice kindness in a vacuum. Kindness involves developing loving and respectful relationships with other people. Kindness is much more than a technique for being kind and getting along with others. Kindness fosters quality of care in a self-actualized personality. Kindness modifies the drive to excel, resulting in a healthy tension between self-interest and service to others. Without care and respect for all human beings, any political, industrial or religious philosophy or movement eventually rots and becomes a lethal danger to humanity. A dedicated Nazi or terrorist could demonstrate fidelity to his cause, or the perceived truth, and establish excellence in his performance, and yet casually inflict untold harm on innocent people.
Ayn Rand was a devout atheist, but this cannot excuse selfish callousness. Abraham Maslow was also an avowed atheist, but he held that the meta-values of truth, beauty, and goodness were inseparable. He came to profess that these meta-values are realities, potential active agents, not mere furniture for the mind. Maslow stated that metavalues are virtual living realities in the self-actualizing personality. He was an advocate of a science of values, refusing to concede the study of truth, beauty, and goodness solely to religion and philosophy.
Even so, Objectivism is a philosophy that embraces the pre-eminence of the individual. This is to be praised and respected. Another important tenet of Objectivism is the statement that the human will is the determinant of the experience of inner life. We cannot control what may happen to us in the situational fields in which we live, but we are fully responsible for our attitudes towards these situations. Although Ayn Rand lived by the values of self-respect and personal responsibility, she stopped there. She believed that science has all the answers and that spiritual perception is a fantasy. But, as Viktor Frankl said, “we cannot be a law to ourselves.” Also, we can’t really respect ourselves any more than we respect other people.
Ayn Rand is to be admired for her courage, but not for her cruelty. I have conceded that Objectivism presents some tenants of importance and power. However, as a philosophy, its power becomes dangerous because it tries to be a two-legged stool. We need all three meta-values: truth, beauty, and goodness. The eternal triad protects us from a narcissistic delusion of unerring power. Because when power leads us to arrogance, the truth reminds us of our limitations. When power reduces our worries and steers us toward selfishness, beauty reminds us that we need the rich and nourishing diversity of our human brothers and sisters. And, perhaps most important, when power corrupts and hurts, goodness cleanses and heals. Because truth, beauty and goodness are the touchstones that guide humanity towards love and service.
And love, the “desire to do good to others,” is the most powerful force in the universe.