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| Directions: Use the links on this page to explore the influences on and impact of the writer Ayn Rand and her work. |
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I. Philosophy Clubs
Millions have bought and read Ayn Rand's books. Many very public figures have declared themselves fans and indeed influenced by her writing. Some of the more recognizable names include: Clark Gable; Billie Jean King; Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas; Leonard Peikoff; Barbara and Nathaniel Branden; Anne Wortham; Robert Bleiberg; Alan Greenspan, and Jacquelyn Reinach.
"Objectivist Clubs" have formed to provide opportunities for people to gather to discuss the philosophy of Ayn Rand. These clubs are present on high school and college campuses and in countries across the world, including India, Australia, South Africa, Scotland, Greece and Israel.
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Links
The High School Debate Project
The Philosophy of Objectivism
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II. Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan, the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, was greatly influenced by the works of Rand. He stated that she was significant to him because:
At the time I met Ayn Rand in my mid-twenties, I had already developed a strong admiration for the efficiency of free-market capitalist economics. She demonstrated to me, however, that not only was laissez-faire capitalism an efficient and productive system, but was also the only system consistent with political freedom. By confronting issues I had never previously encountered, a whole new view of society was opened to me. Ayn Rand was, therefore, instrumental in significantly broadening the scope of my thinking and was clearly a major contributor to my intellectual development, for which I remain profoundly grateful to this day.
-From Barbara Branden's, The Passion of Ayn Rand; 1986, New York, NY: Anchor Books, p. 410.
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Links
Federal Reserve Board
BBC
Time Magazine's 1997 Man of the Year: Alan Greenspan
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III. Whittaker Chambers
While Ayn Rand's writing has purportedly touched many people in a positive manner, it would be remiss if it was not mentioned that she also had her critics and/or people who completely disliked her writings or disagreed with her philosophies. One such person was Whittaker Chambers. His review of Rand's Atlas Shrugged appeared in William Buckley's National Review and was entitled, Big Sister is Watching You (National Review, December 28, 1957, pp. 594-596). Chambers said, "I find it a remarkably silly book…It is a massive tract for the times. Its story merely serves Miss Rand to get the customers inside the tent. And as a soapbox for delivering her message. The message is the thing. It is a sum, a forthright philosophic materialism…Like any consistent materialism, this one begins by rejecting God, religion, original sin, etc. etc….Thus, Randian Man, like Marxian Man, is made the center of a godless world."
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Links
Arthur Schlesinger Jr. on Whittaker Chambers
C-SPAN's American Writers Series
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