Volume 12, number 2, to be published


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Volume 12, number 2, of the Journal of Ayn Rand Studies is about to be published.

The next issue, Volume 13, number 1, will be the first from Penn State University Press.

http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/notablog/archives/001805.html

Robert Campbell

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  • 1 month later...

I'm going to be putting my thoughts up about Ayn Rand Nation, too, before too long, so there should be some cool overlap and a small amount of buzz about this book--a surge in our subcommunity after the publication splash, so to speak.

This is something I had started without even realizing that Neil was doing an article. When he told me he was doing it, I think I got the same shock he did when he found out I was doing mine.

I expect our approaches will be very different. In fact, I have looked around at the reviews and I haven't seen anyone with the approach I have outlined.

However, I like and respect Neil a lot, so I will be very interested in what he has to say.

(Actually, he sent me a copy and I didn't have time to look at it before his email got buried under the Internet markeing spam I receive. To Neil--I'll dig it out, I promise.)

Michael

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Even if you take out Weiss's anti-Objectivism and Leftism, you can still learn a lot from the book. I don't think you can say that about most anti-Rand books.

Neil,

I agree with this. Gary Weiss is an honest writer. Even when he is obviously being unfair, like his constant harping on Rand's alleged hypocrisy in accepting Medicare to help pay for her medical bills at the end of her life, I believe he honestly does not grok her mentality. He doesn't understand--on the premise level--the notion of how someone can object to being forced to participate in something (like paying into government entitlement programs), but use it when that person qualifies as a way to get some of the equity back.

He thinks Rand only used it because she was a poor critter who needed it at the time--and an ungrateful poor critter who was a hypocrite to boot. It sure is a good thing the government was there to catch this poor critter in her hour of need. Even an ungrateful hypocrite. Look how benevolent the government is. We are all God's children no matter how wrongheaded we are. We all deserve to be taken care of and the government will make sure of it. We'll even take care of Ayn Rand. Gotcha, lady!

It's a flawed conviction because it totally misidentifies Rand and her thinking, but it fits his core worldview storyline so well, I believe he finds the actual reality of her somewhat akin to a Martian or an actual ghost or unicorn. Nobody's like that, he thinks.

Taking that into account, Weiss has a penetrating first-hand mind and generally approaches the people and issues he coveres with a view to possibly correcting himself. It's just his worldview story is as deeply ingrained in him as the most rabid Christian fundamentalist's worldview is in that zealot. I think he would be shocked to discover how deeply this cuts in his own soul--and, based on his writing, I believe it is a good chance he might discover it one day.

His Progressive worldview story might lead him to misidentify things, but within that frame, he tries to be as rational and open-minded as possible.

That's the frame of mind I ultimately used in looking at his book (after coming to that conclusion, of course).

Michael

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