Ayn Rand -...
Transcript of Ayn Rand -...
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