1. The big news, by far, this month is the publication of a new biography of Ayn Rand in the prestigious Yale University Jewish Lives series by Alexandra Popoff. It will be published August 6. Based on a review in the Washington Post and the limited page views on Amazon it seems well worth reading. It will be the first biography of Rand since Anne Heller’s and Jenniefer Burns’ 2009 biographies. Popoff was given access to the Ayn Rand Archives and says she admires the Burns and Heller biographies (which largely confirm the accuracy of the Branden accounts). Her goal, as she says, is to discuss Rand in the context of her Jewish upbringing. Why was Popoff given access to the Ayn Rand Archives? Was it because it’s a niche publication published by a prestigious press? Has the ARI given up on an eventual authorized biography? Inquiring minds want to know.
2. Another book about Rand: Ayn Rand and Advaita Hinduism. I know next to nothing about this branch of Hinduism so at 66 dollars I’ll likely pass.
3. I’ve often considered writing an essay about the Objectivist / Ludwig von Mises take on Nazism. Fortunately, David Gordon did it for me.
4 comments:
The David Gordon essay was interesting. Personally I don’t think we can grasp the rise of Naziism without taking into account the cult of personality surrounding Hitler.
In periods of instability people are drawn to charismatic leaders with an alpha male persona. Germany had lost a war, and then had been devastated by the Spanish Flu, ravaged by hyperinflation, and demoralized by the bizarre and grotesque Weimar culture. I’m not sure how much more is necessary to explain the rise of a strongman who channeled the nation’s angry frustration and gave a voice to all the baffled, silently suffering people who felt betrayed by their own government and isolated from the world.
Populist movements often veer into hysteria and the deification of a savior figure. In my opinion the whole thing has more to do with mass psychology than with philosophy or economics as such.
Google “podcast Popoff Ayn Rand “ and you can find an interview with MS. Popoff
Most people are utilitarian in their outlook. I doubt the average Nazi to the extent that they racist views thought they were justified by Kant or Hegel. Things were bad and people needed a skape goat
I agree about the social psychology being more of the explanation than economics or philosophy. I think Nazism exists in a blind spot for libertarians and objectivists. I think its core is nationalism rather than economics and libertarians often try to shoehorn issues into an economic mold. This is because that is where their obsessions are. The same applies to Objectivist obsessions about philosophy.
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