Ayn Rand

1905-1982

Russian American Author

Ayn Rand Background

• Born in Russia in 1905 as Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum

• She moved to the US in her twenties in 1926, less than a decade after the 1917 Russian Revolution

• This was the revolution that established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R. or Soviet Union), a communist government

Communist troops in Red Square in 1917

Ayn Rand Background

• She opposed the communist government that had taken over her country and which was beginning to spread around the world

• Rand opposed all forms of Collectivism

Ayn Rand Background

• She is famous for several novels including Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged, which voiced this opposition through literature

The Collective vs. The Individual

• Collectivism: ➢A political theory associated with communism. More

broadly, it is the idea that people should prioritize the good of society over the welfare of the individual.

➢Collectivism has to do with political theories that put the group before the individual

The Collective vs. The Individual

Collectivism inspired some political philosophies:

• Socialism: ➢property and distribution of wealth are controlled by

governments to increase social and economic equality.

• Communism: ➢Goal is to form a classless society based on common

ownership of the state where everyone is equal.

Utopia

• In 1516, Thomas More (English Author) invented the term “Utopia”

• Utopia translates to no place, and it is a fictional paradise where everyone is equal.

• In some ways, Communism seeks to achieve this kind of paradise or at least a “workers paradise.”

Utopia

Society vs. The Individual

• Dystopia is a vision of an often futuristic society, which has developed into a negative version of Utopia.

• A dystopia is often characterized by a totalitarian form of government. It often features different kinds of repressive social control systems, a lack or total absence of individual freedoms and expressions and a state of constant warfare or violence.

• Look for some of these features in her novels, such as in Anthem.

Notes:

• Collectivism: ➢A political theory associated with communism. More

broadly, it is the idea that people should prioritize the good of society over the welfare of the individual.

➢Collectivism has to do with political theories that put the group before the individual

• Ego:➢A person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance➢A conscious thinking subject➢The “I” or self of any person