"If a life can have a ‘theme song' — and I believe that every worthwhile one has — mine is [best] expressed in one word: Individualism." (qtd. in ARI)  This quote from Ayn Rand can be applied to everything she did or thought during her life.  Born in St. Petersburg, Russia on February 2, 1905, Rand felt out of place in her native country.  She didn't agree with the prevailing ideas of mysticism and collectivism that formed the Russian government and society.  So at age 21, in 1926, she sailed to the United States.  It was in the US that Ayn Rand made a name for herself, and began a new philosophy that would affect people around the world.

Rand knew at age nine that she wanted to become a fiction writer.  What she didn't know was that her name would soon be known across the United States, as well as Europe, for her controversial novels.  Her first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936.  But it wasn't until 1945, with the arrival of The Fountainhead, that she won international fame.  Rand had established a reputation as a talented novelist and philosopher by the time Atlas Shrugged was first printed in 1957.  This work is considered by some to be her greatest achievement: an intellectual mystery story integrating ethics, metaphysics, epistemology, politics, economics, and sex.  It also formulated "a philosophy for living on earth" (qtd. in ARI), sometimes referred to as objectivism.  When she died on March 6, 1982 in her New York City apartment, she had sold over 20 million books.

Although Ayn Rand is known mostly for her writing, her career in the United States began in the film industry.  She left her relatives' home in Chicago to pursue a career as a screenwriter in Hollywood.  On her second day in the city, she was standing on a corner and was offered a ride by Cecil B. DeMille, a director.  He brought her to the set of his current film, The King of Kings, and gave her a job as an extra.  It was here, a week later, that she met actor Frank O'Connor, whom she married in 1929.  And although they were married for 50 years, Rand also had an 18 year relationship with Nathaniel Branden.  He was 25 years younger than Rand, and their relationship "went from student and teacher, to friends, to colleagues and partners, to lovers and ultimately adversaries" (Branden 1).

Rand first became close to Branden through their long philosophical discussions together.  She would give him reading lists of excellent books, and they discussed everything from ethics to economics. (Branden 39)  She believed capitalism was the only moral economic system, because "in its pure, consistent form, is the only system based on the inviolability of individual rights" (qtd. in Branden 41).  One dictionary defines capitalism as a system where "the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market" (The American Heritage College Dictionary 208).  Rand also added, "capitalism means laissez-faire. N ot government controls in favor of business but rather no government contols. Hands off. A totally free market" (Branden 40).

Thus Rand's ideal political-economic system, according to her objectivist philosophy, is laissez-faire capitalism.  This system is one "where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit" (ARI).

Rand's philosophy was based on the fact that "Historically, capitalism worked brilliantly, and it is the only system that will work."  She believed that socialism would always bring disaster to a society, because that was what had occurred every time it had been attempted previously. (ARI)

Rand's ideal system is one where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and furthermore must not even initiate physical force.  The only purpose of government is to protect man's rights, she thought, and could only use physical force in retaliation to criminals.  Basically, in a system of full capitalism, there should be a complete separation of economics and state, in the same way as there is a separation of church and state. (ARI)

Ayn Rand used her books to introduce her ideas, including economics, to the world.  The purpose of Atlas Shrugged was to provide a moral or ethical foundation for capitalism.  She presented business "as it might be and ought to be" (Branden 258).  Rand created characters who match the process of industrial achievement.  For example, Atlas Shrugged's protagonist, John Galt, is the American businessman at his best.  Business is her symbol for representing "free trade and free minds, productive achievement, the material means of human survival, and for the glory of life on earth" (Branden 258).  Although her version of the economy has not yet been realized, she believed that it is badly needed.

Ayn Rand proved herself to be a remarkably intelligent woman.  Her philosophy, objectivism, gave direction to her life.  The possibility of the realization of her dreams was her driving force through the many lectures and essays completed in her lifetime.  She truly wanted to see a society where laissez-faire capitalism may finally be realized.  But until that day, her novels will continue to challenge readers everywhere.

Essay by:  Renee Marchin,  rmmarchin@student.tcu.edu,  2000

(Typos, if any, by John Lovett, j.lovett@tcu.edu,  2000)

Works Cited

The American Heritage College Dictionary. 3rd ed.  New York.  Houghton Mifflin Company.  1997.

The Ayn Rand . 27 April 2000.  <http://aynrand.org/>

Branden, Nathaniel.  My Years with Ayn Rand.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass Publishers.