Ayn Rand and the ideology of the right

Rarely is a book review as interesting as this one.

It starts with

The current era of Democratic governance has provoked a florid response on the right, ranging from the prosaic (routine denunciations of big spending and debt) to the overheated (fears of socialism) to the lunatic (the belief that Democrats plan to put the elderly to death). Amid this cacophony of rage and dread, there has emerged one anxiety that is an actual idea, and not a mere slogan or factual misapprehension. The idea is that the United States is divided into two classes--the hard-working productive elite, and the indolent masses leeching off their labor by means of confiscatory taxes and transfer programs.

And uses a couple of biographies of Ayn Rand to describe not only her influence on the ideology of 20th (and 21st) century American conservativism, but the ideology in general.

Highly recommended reading.

 

Comments

[Pete C]

Greenspan seemed genuinely surprised to learn there's no honor among thieves. I don't know any of the rich Randians, but I've met the poor ones like the guy from Kokomo mentioned in the review, unemployed or deep in debt, who had their revelation in high school years and ever since identified themselves with the hero of Rand's story book.