Ayn Rand and the Libertarian Party

Ayn Rand and the Libertarian Party

Recently, I was browsing on The Ayn Rand Institute when I came across an article titled;  Ayn Rand's Q and A on Libertarianism.  It is not really an article, but excerpts of different interviews of Rand spanning the decade of 71'-81'.  Each comment is a direct smear against the Libertarian Party.  I am sure that the LP has drastically changed since the time of Rand, but that wasn't my main point of focus.

First I want to state, I am a huge fan of Rand.  I have read most of her novels and ate up many of the essay compilations such as The Virtue of Selfishness or Philosophy, Who Needs it?  Although I do respect how Rand was spot on with so many philosophical observations, I always keep in mind that she was only human.

Towards the end of the page on the ARI website, there is a quote where Rand says: "Because Libertarians are a monstrous, disgusting bunch of people: they plagiarize my ideas when that fits their purpose, and they denounce me in a more vicious manner than any communist publication, when that fits their purpose. They are lower than any pragmatists, and what they hold against Objectivism is morality. They’d like to have an amoral political program. "

What really stuck in my mind, and quite ironically as well, was that Ayn Rand being such a champion of individualism, was divulging headfirst into collectivism.  If there were certain members of the LP that she wanted to call out, she could have.  But instead, she painted with a broad brush every single person who called themselves Libertarians. Had she met each individual, she may of been more cautious with her words.  It is undeniable that if you talked to each person who proclaims themselves to be members of a certain political party or religious collective, you would soon realize that each person is in fact an individual, and can never share the same beliefs or opinions with any large group.

This is the problem with assigning labels to a large grouping of people, although convenient, it lends to the collective mindset of us verses them. Examples such as this serve as a warning that even the best of our thought leaders can stumble from time to time.

It is also important to state that in the 30 plus years that have passed since most of these comments were made by Rand, Libertarianism has changed a great deal. I often wonder what Rand would have thought of what has become of the Mises Institute, or what she would have to say about Lew Rockwell.

Since we will never find any large group of people that will agree with us 100% of the time, we need to work together to promote ideas we can agree on.  Instead of quarreling with groups such as the Libertarian Party or the modern Tea Party movement, we should look to find common ground, and from there we can, as many the like of Ron Paul have, promote the ideas of individual rights and personal liberty.

We must be careful though, if we are to disagree with people, we must do it on an individual basis, and not by lumping a whole crowd of people into an ideological collective. This is the lesson we can learn from Rand, we learn not just by the things she said and wrote that are right, but also from her inconsistencies.