The Ayn Rand Column: Written for the Los Angeles Times [Paperback]

*The Ayn Rand Column* contains over 35 pieces by Rand ranging from the brief, but concise pieces such as an "Introduction to Objectivism", "The Secular Meaning of Christmas", and "Why I Like Stamp Collecting" to the more lengthy "Textbook on Americanism", "Modern Management", and "The Fascist New Frontier." The collection also features an introduction by the book's editor Peter Schwartz, that helps ties the pieces together.

My favorite piece in the collection is Rand's "War and Peace" where Rand makes the case for why today's peace movements are *not* advocates of peace, but of gang-rule, statism, and thus dictatorship. Quoting Rand,

"Professing love and concern for the survival of mankind, these [peace] movements keep screaming that...that armed force and violence should be abolished as a means of settling disputes among nations, and that war should be outlawed in the name of humanity. Yet these same peace movements do not oppose dictatorships; the political views of their members range through all shades of the statist spectrum, from "welfare statism" to socialism to fascism to communism. This means that they are opposed to the use of coercion by one nation against another, but not by the government of a nation against its own citizens; it means that they are opposed to the use of force against *armed* adversaries but not against the *disarmed*..."

And after some discussion of the concretes events to support her claim, Rand concludes:

"...Let all those who are seriously concerned with peace, those who do love *man* and do care about his survival, realize that war cannot be outlawed by lawless statist thugs and that it is not war but *force* that has to be outlawed."

If I may make a brief philosophical assessment: Wow!

What is most illuminating about this collection is Rand's ability to dissect what, at first glance, appears to be a concrete, trivial issue--say the much-maligned "commercialized" gift-giving during Christmas--and shows how it relates to some timeless philosophical principle of vital importance (Sorry! You'll have to read the book for the principle). To use a popular metaphor, Ayn Rand was a woman who could see the forest (abstractions) for the trees (concretes), and vice-versa.

Though this book uses the issues of the 1960's to reveal the work of philosophy in action, it is of value to the modern reader of today, as the philosophical principles Rand elucidates are timeless.

With that caveat, however, I would strongly encourage anyone with an interest in Ayn Rand's writing to read this book. It is a good example of how to put some of the more abstract parts of Objectivist philosophy into real-world practice. Rand's book "The Romantic Manifesto", for example, becomes more clear in the light of her essay on the television show "The Untouchables".

Also, even if one is not especially interested in period current events, there are some essays of broader scope included after the columns. Of particular note are her essay "The Fascist New Frontier" (an invaluable antidote to the floods of Kennedy worship pumped out by the mass media), and her explanation of why atheists can celebrate Christmas. I believe that both long-time Objectivists and people who are new to the philosophy can find something useful in this book. Furthermore, even if you have no interest in Objectivism, the book is still an enlightening look at a pivotal time in American history.