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Ayn Rand Cult
 
 
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Ayn Rand Cult [Paperback]

Jeff Walker (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)

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From Publishers Weekly

According to this devastating and often heavy-handed critique, Ayn Rand, whose novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged exposed millions to her philosophy of virtuous self-centeredness and capitalist freedom, was an oppressive personality whose Objectivist movement demonstrated all the classic elements of a destructive cult (its messianic leader and its separation of group members from family and friends). Walker presents his subject as an arrogant, dogmatic bully who brooked no criticism and as a repressed narcissist who feared her own emotions and hid behind a glorification of reason. He concludes that Rand was no more than a third-rate pop-novelist of propaganda fiction and that her "vulgar Nietzschean" philosophy's obsessive concern with the overachiever?who requires protection via absolutized individual rights?contributed to the movement's cultish aspects. Walker also savages self-esteem guru Nathaniel Branden, who was Rand's protege and extramarital lover; their explosive breakup in 1968 pulverized the Objectivist movement, whose contemporary schisms and crosscurrents he ploddingly tracks. In a vitriolic chapter on Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan?a one-time member of Rand's inner circle?Walker unpersuasively contends that this banker's "inflation-obsessed" policies grew out of Rand's theories. Those who find Rand's self-styled philosophy outre may not find much of interest in this scathing, albeit clumsy, expose. Others will find it a useful corrective to the Rand mystique. (Feb.) FYI: Branden's tell-all account of his affair with Rand and his role in the Objectivist movement is being reissued in a new edition in March as My Years with Ayn Rand: The Truth Behind the Myth (Jossey-Bass, $19 480p ISBN 0-7879-4513-7). While he does criticize Rand personally, his treatment differs from Walker's in that he still reveres her as a philosopher.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Ayn Rand's novels and philosophy have been the object of widespread popular interest since the 1950s. After her death in 1982, there was a spate of biographical and critical interest; her popularity continues with a U.S. postage stamp and a television documentary, both scheduled for this spring. These two books offer divergent perspectives on Rand, her followers, and the Objectivist movement. Branden (The Art of Living Consciously, LJ 3/1/97) offers a revised version of his 1989 memoir. A personal account of his intellectual and romantic relationship with Rand and their famous break, it is useful for its insider's view of the Objectivist movement and may appeal to those interested in gossipy details of the protagonists' lives. While objectivity isn't expected in an insider's account, this memoir nonetheless lacks critical distance, even after nearly 50 years, and is marred by plodding narrative and wooden dialog. Canadian journalist Walker makes a more valuable and original contribution to Rand studies. He analyzes the Objectivist movement, Rand's leadership role, and the politics of her inner circle in terms of the cult dynamic. This analytical perspective avoids the common extremes of hagiography and vilification that mark many accounts of Rand's schismatic movement. Walker also does a credible job of placing Rand's ideas in the context of philosophies that preceded and followed her, and it offers insightful chapters on three of her major followers: Branden, Leonard Peikoff, and Alan Greenspan. His account is well researched and clearly written, though it is sometimes weighed down by an unsynthesized accumulation of detail. A solid contribution to 20th-century intellectual history.AJulia Burch, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, MA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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54 Reviews
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3.2 out of 5 stars (54 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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5.0 out of 5 stars Useful, April 1 2004
By 
Joshua Knape "student" (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Ayn Rand Cult (Paperback)
If you would like to know why you should probably read *about* Ayn Rand and her pop philosophy, Objectivism, from a safe distance rather than joining it, you can hardly go wrong with this book. It provides extensive and evidently correct information on why Objectivism fits perfectly into the definition of 'cult,' and why Ayn Rand can fairly be called an intellectual bully and tyrant. Based on the picture of Objectivist leaders' behavior, I can easily imagine current Ayn Rand Institute director Leonard Peikoff stridently condemning this book as irrational! irrational! irrational! (Probably without having read it first; the author notes cases of Rand and her students bashing philosophers and/or books that they have little or no firsthand knowledge of.)
However, it is too bad that for some reason there aren't that many anti-Rand books out there (that I know of), because I would rather have gotten this critical information on Rand/Objectivism from a different author. What most of the other reviews say is true: he is dreadfully abrasive. He is described as an investigative journalist, but his analysis is not conducted with a semblance of detachment or professionalism. Rather, he very much gives the impression of having a personal axe to grind with the Objectivist movement. The back of the book states that some of the publications he has worked for are Free Inquiry, Skeptical Enquirer and Liberty. I am wondering if he might be a libertarian, in which case his tone would be understandable, because according to him, Rand and her Objectivists hated (still hate) libertarians for not wholly accepting Objectivist philosophy. Or possibly Walker is a former Objectivist student who suffered 'excommunication' for developing incorrect ideas. (The Objectivist leaders' standard procedure in this matter is ugly.) Still, the book is the truth, and should be read.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Chained to the Ego, Mar 16 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Ayn Rand Cult (Paperback)
There are two good reasons for reading this book: 1) Jeff Walker has managed to interview many people who were close to Ayn Rand and early Objectivism. It is thus an invaluable historical record. 2) In view of the chronic stand-off between the various factions of Objectivism, only a non-Objectivist could have written this book. It is thus an invaluable historical record.
Does Walker despise Ayn Rand? Quite a lot. But there's no obligation to revere Ayn Rand, and Walker clearly doesn't.
Is he fair on Ayn Rand? Possibly not. There must have been times when she was genial and pleasant and prepared to discuss opposing points of view in a civilised atmosphere. We do not find those instances here.
But that's not the point. Walker is trying to make a case that Rand was a cult figure, in a context of the more committed Randians' refusal to entertain the possibility that Rand's personality and behaviour was the fuel to that cult.
And not just her personality and behaviour, but also her ideas. Central to her thought was her notion of ethical egoism, where the autonomous ego decided what was right and wrong. But what was missing from this equation was the notion of the ego's obligation to the well-being of others. Thus, she could embark on an affair with Nathaniel Branden, assuming that her husband Frank - the Eddie Willers of Objectivism -- could not be affected by their actions.
But as Barbara Branden discovered, therein lay the rotten core of Objectivism, the deceit that had to be practiced at Rand's instigation. This deceit consumed more and more of their lives until the central character imploded under the strain of her own self-deceit.
And this was the woman who claimed to know the rational source of her every emotion.
The enormous tragedy of Ayn Rand was not just that she fabricated a lie, but that she drew so many others into that lie. This rotten core is even now consuming the Objectivist movement.
B
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3.0 out of 5 stars It's the same old song, Feb 22 2004
By 
Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Ayn Rand Cult (Paperback)
Unlike most people, I discovered the ideas of Ayn Rand through a seminar at college. I was captivated at her uncanny ability to explain complex philosophical ideas and the ease and evident joy with which she fielded anudience questions- even from the enemy camp. Later I discovered the books and only after that did I learn of her personal life. The more one reads of that life the more one is astounded that she was able to produce anything with all the infighting, love affairs, bickering, struggles for control, etc. Yet somehow she did and became a one-woman phenomenon.

Much of Walker's information comes directly from other sources. In fact, a large part of the text consists of "and in PASSION, Barbara Brandon says..." or "Kay Nolte Smith describes the marriage as one of...". I was looking for something new or a new way of looking at the movement but alas the only thing we get is writing with all the judgement and seriousness of a hack speech writer. The writing, by the way, is strictly junior college caliber - no sense of flow or organization.

Is Objectivism a cult? Absolutely. Was Rand the worst person to ever live? Well, according to Walker she comes close. Her ideas were the result of (take your pick) her escape from the USSR, business opinions of the 1920's, pill popping or unhappy marriage. She was uncaring, depressed, smoked, deluded, always had an answer and self-assured. She's even taken to task for once being kind to an old man!

One must ask two questions: How did this poor immigrant become a cultural icon and why were so many apparently intelligent people willing to sublimate themselves to her power? Neither of these questions are answered.

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