Sharpe's Opinion
Monday, 2nd Nov, 2009
I’ve never read any Ayn Rand, and don’t really have an opinion on her either way. Johann Hari, on the other hand, really doesn’t like her, and has written a pretty scathing profile in Slate Magazine. Here’s his section on how she treated her band of ‘followers’:
Anybody in her circle who disagreed with her was subjected to a show trial in front of the whole group in which they would be required to repent or face expulsion. Her secretary, Barbara Weiss, said: ‘I came to look on her as a killer of people.’ The workings of her cult exposed the hollowness of Rand’s claims to venerate free thinking and individualism. Her message was, think freely, as long as it leads you into total agreement with me.
He goes on to compare her with L. Ron Hubbard.
Probably my favourite comment about Ayn Rand ever came from the MacBreak Weekly podcast, actually. During the advert for the show’s sponsor, an online audiobook retailer, Leo Laporte (the host) mentioned that the audiobook of Atlas Shrugged was on sale – was $48.99, now just $8.99. Merlin Mann countered that with “you probably could have gotten it for less than that if you weren’t so weak“
Comments
Mind you, not sure exactly how uber-leftie Hari gets to look down his nose at her for actions that aren’t exactly unknown in his own circle of compatriots…
I confess to not understanding who Johann Hari is and why anyone cares what he thinks. He seems to be in the media a lot at the moment. Why is that?
I don’t have any opinion on Rand as a person, but Atlas Shrugged is a must read even if you disagree with her stance. She is a purist: someone who takes the individualist/libertarian point to the extreme. She says that there is no greater good, just free individuals entering into agreements which benefit both parties.
I don’t agree wholeheartedly with what she says but I can appreciate the thought experiment.
Just read the first half of the article, and while I only know about the bit about Atlas Shrugged it is worth noting that Hari has been rather selective about the words he has quoted. He describes the book (one of the longest in the English language) rather simplistically. I wonder if he has read the whole thing?
BE, Hari is, as JuliaM says, an uber-leftie journalist who is fairly influential now on both sides of the Atlantic. I think it’s fair to say his account of Rand’s life and works is unlikely to be objective, or indeed fair, but it is well-written and I found it quite interesting. Asquith evidently liked it 
To be honest, I have a feeling life may just be a tad too short for me to get round to reading Atlas Shrugged.
Perhaps I am missing something. I don’t know why people think he’s interesting I find him banal and unimaginative. I did find one of his economics rants interesting until I started seeing holes all over the place.
Atlas Shrugged could fit its point into a book half the length, but it shouldn’t be dismissed on weightiness alone..!
Heh!
JuliaM
November 2, 2009 at 6:41 pm