enwiki-20080103-pages-articles-example.xml

<!-- Examples extracted from enwiki-20080103-pages-articles.xml -->
<mediawiki xmlns="http://www.mediawiki.org/xml/export-0.3/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.mediawiki.org/xml/export-0.3/ http://www.mediawiki.org/xml/export-0.3.xsd" version="0.3" xml:lang="en">
  <siteinfo>
    <sitename>Wikipedia</sitename>
    <base>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page</base>
    <generator>MediaWiki 1.12alpha</generator>
    <case>first-letter</case>
      <namespaces>
      <namespace key="-2">Media</namespace>
      <namespace key="-1">Special</namespace>
      <namespace key="0" />
      <namespace key="1">Talk</namespace>
      <namespace key="2">User</namespace>
      <namespace key="3">User talk</namespace>
      <namespace key="4">Wikipedia</namespace>
      <namespace key="5">Wikipedia talk</namespace>
      <namespace key="6">Image</namespace>
      <namespace key="7">Image talk</namespace>
      <namespace key="8">MediaWiki</namespace>
      <namespace key="9">MediaWiki talk</namespace>
      <namespace key="10">Template</namespace>
      <namespace key="11">Template talk</namespace>
      <namespace key="12">Help</namespace>
      <namespace key="13">Help talk</namespace>
      <namespace key="14">Category</namespace>
      <namespace key="15">Category talk</namespace>
      <namespace key="100">Portal</namespace>
      <namespace key="101">Portal talk</namespace>
    </namespaces>
  </siteinfo>
  <page>
    <title>Anarchism</title>
    <id>12</id>
    <revision>
      <id>182320552</id>
      <timestamp>2008-01-05T16:02:19Z</timestamp>
      <contributor>
        <username>Skomorokh</username>
        <id>1749684</id>
      </contributor>
      <minor />
      <comment>/* External links */ balancing</comment>
      <text xml:space="preserve">{{Citations missing|article|date=January 2008}}
{{dablink|&quot;Anarchist&quot; redirects here. For the comic book character, see [[Anarchist (comics)]].}}
{{Anarchism}}
'''Anarchism''' (from [[Greek language|Greek]] ἀν (without) + ἄρχειν (to rule) + ισμός (from stem -ιζειν), &quot;without [[archon]]s,&quot; &quot;without rulers&quot;)&lt;ref&gt;[http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/anarchy Anarchy] [[Merriam-Webster]]'s Online dictionary&lt;/ref&gt; is a [[political philosophy]] encompassing theories and attitudes which reject compulsory [[government]]&lt;ref&gt;Malatesta, Errico, ''Towards Anarchism''.&lt;/ref&gt; (the [[state]]) and support its elimination,&lt;ref name=definitions&gt;&quot;[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9117285 Anarchism]&quot;. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 2006. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [[29 August]] [[2006]] &lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name=definitions2&gt;&quot;Anarchism&quot;. ''The Shorter [[Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]''. 2005. P. 14 &quot;Anarchism is the view that a society without the state, or government, is both possible and desirable.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; often due to a wider rejection of involuntary or permanent [[authority]].&lt;ref&gt;Bakunin, Mikhail, ''God and the State'', pt. 2.; Tucker, Benjamin, ''State Socialism and Anarchism''.; Kropotkin, Piotr, ''Anarchism: its Philosophy and Ideal''; Malatesta, Errico, ''Towards Anarchism''; Bookchin, Murray, ''Anarchism: Past and Present'', pt. 4; An [http://www.spunk.org/texts/intro/sp001550.html Introduction to Anarchism] by Liz A. Highleyman&lt;/ref&gt; Anarchism is defined by ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics'' as &quot;a cluster of doctrines and attitudes centered on the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary.&quot;&lt;ref name=slevin&gt;Slevin, Carl. &quot;Anarchism&quot;. ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics''. Ed. Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan. Oxford University Press, 2003.&lt;/ref&gt; 

There are many types and traditions of anarchism,&lt;ref&gt;Kropotkine, Petr Alekseevich. ''Anarchism: A Collection of Revolutionary Writings'', Courier Dover Publications, 2002, p.5&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal|author=R.B. Fowler|title=The Anarchist Tradition of Political Thought|year=1972|journal=Western Political Quarterly|volume=25|issue=4|pages=738-752|doi=10.2307/446800}}&lt;/ref&gt; not all of which are mutually exclusive.&lt;ref&gt;Sylvan, Richard. &quot;Anarchism&quot;. ''A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy'', editors Goodwin, Robert E. and Pettit, Philip. Blackwell Publishing, 1995, p.231&lt;/ref&gt; Anarchists hold different views as to the [[anarchist economics|economic]] and [[anarchist law|legal]] organisation of society; some favor [[libertarian communism]], [[collectivist anarchism]] or [[participatory economics]] while others  support [[free market]] systems like [[Mutualism (economic theory)|mutualism]], [[agorism]], or [[anarcho-capitalism]].&lt;ref&gt;&quot;Usually considered to be an extreme left-wing ideology, anarchism has always included a significant strain of radical individualism, from the hyperrationalism of Godwin, to the egoism of Stirner, to the libertarians and anarcho-capitalists of today.&quot; Brooks, Frank H. 1994. ''The Individualist Anarchists: An Anthology of Liberty (1881-1908)''. Transaction Publishers. p. xi&lt;/ref&gt; According to the ''[[Oxford Companion to Philosophy]]'', &quot;there is no single defining position that all anarchists hold, beyond their rejection of compulsory government, and those considered anarchists at best share a certain [[family resemblance]]&quot;.&lt;ref name=oxcom&gt;&quot;Anarchism&quot;. ''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', [[Oxford University Press]], 2007, p. 31&lt;/ref&gt; [[Anarchist schools of thought]] differ fundamentally, supporting anything from extreme [[individualism]] to complete [[collectivism]].&lt;ref name=slevin/&gt;
==Origins==
{{main|History of anarchism}}
[[Image:WilliamGodwin.jpg|thumb|left|[[William Godwin]] is credited as one of the founders of modern anarchism.]]
Opposition to state and hierarchy had a long history prior to the anarchists in nineteenth century Europe. Some claim anarchist themes can be found in the works of [[Taoist]] sage [[Laozi|Lao Tzu]].&lt;ref name=&quot;EB1910&quot;&gt;Peter Kropotkin, [http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/kropotkin/britanniaanarchy.html &quot;Anarchism&quot;], ''[[Encyclopaedia Britannica]], 1910&lt;/ref&gt; &lt;ref&gt;[http://www.religionandnature.com/ern/sample/Clark--Anarchism.pdf &quot;Anarchism&quot;], ''The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature''&lt;/ref&gt; [[Diogenes of Sinope]] and the [[Cynics]] and their contemporary, [[Zeno of Citium]], the founder of [[Stoicism]], also introduced similar topics.&lt;ref name=&quot;EB1910&quot;/&gt;

Modern anarchism, however, sprung from the secular thought of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], particularly [[Rousseau]]'s arguments for the moral centrality of freedom.&lt;ref name=Encarta&gt;&quot;Anarchism&quot;, ''[[Encarta]] Online Encyclopedia'' 2006 (UK version)&lt;/ref&gt; Although by the turn of the 19th century the term &quot;anarchist&quot; had an entirely positive connotation, it first entered the English language in 1642 during the [[English Civil War]] as a term of [[abuse]] used by [[Cavalier|Royalists]] to damn those who were fermenting disorder.&lt;ref name=bbc/&gt; By the time of the [[French Revolution]] some, such as the ''Enragés,''{{huh}} began to use the term positively,&lt;ref&gt;Sheehan, Sean. ''Anarchism'', London: Reaktion Books Ltd., 2004. pg. 85&lt;/ref&gt; in opposition to [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobin]] centralisation of power, seeing &quot;revolutionary government&quot; as [[oxymoron]]ic.&lt;ref name=bbc/&gt; From this climate [[William Godwin]] developed what many consider the first expression of [[anarchist schools of thought|modern anarchist thought]].&lt;ref name=&quot;godwinsep&quot;/&gt; Godwin was, according to [[Peter Kropotkin]], &quot;the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his work.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;EB1910&quot;/&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Godwin himself attributed the first anarchist writing to [[Edmund Burke]]'s ''[http://oll.libertyfund.org/Texts/LFBooks/Burke0061/Vindication/0339_Bk.html Vindication of Natural Society]''. &quot;Most of the above arguments may be found much more at large in Burke's ''Vindication of Natural Society''; a treatise in which the evils of the existing political institutions are displayed with incomparable force of reasoning and lustre of eloquence…&quot; - footnote, Ch. 2 ''Political Justice'' by William Godwin.&lt;/ref&gt; Godwin, a [[philosophical anarchist]], opposed revolutionary action and saw a [[minarchy|minimal state]] as a present &quot;necessary evil&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Godwin said: &quot;…however we may be obliged to admit it as a necessary evil for the present, it behoves us, as the friends of reason and the human species, to admit as little of it as possible, and carefully to observe whether, in consequence of the gradual illumination of the human mind, that little may not hereafter be diminished.&quot; [http://web.bilkent.edu.tr/Online/www.english.upenn.edu/jlynch/Frank/Godwin/pj51.html &quot;An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice&quot;]&lt;/ref&gt; that would become increasingly irrelevant and powerless by the gradual spread of knowledge.&lt;ref name=&quot;godwinsep&quot;&gt;{{sep entry|godwin|William Godwin}}&lt;/ref&gt; Godwin advocated extreme [[individualism]], proposing that all cooperation in labor be eliminated.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;everything understood by the term co-operation is in some sense an evil.&quot; – In ''Britannica Concise Encyclopedia''. Retrieved [[December 7]] [[2006]], from [http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article-9037183 Encyclopædia Britannica Online]&lt;/ref&gt; Godwin felt discrimination on any grounds besides ability was intolerable.

The first to describe himself as anarchist was [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]],&lt;ref name=bbc&gt;[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20061207.shtml &quot;Anarchism&quot;], [[BBC Radio 4]] program, [[In Our Time (BBC Radio 4)|In Our Time]], Thursday [[December 7]] [[2006]]. Hosted by [[Melvyn Bragg]] of the BBC, with John Keane, Professor of Politics at [[Westminster University]], [[Ruth Kinna]], Senior Lecturer in Politics at [[Loughborough University]], and [[Peter Marshall (author)|Peter Marshall]], philosopher and historian.&lt;/ref&gt; which led some to call him the founder of modern anarchist theory.&lt;ref&gt;Daniel Guerin, ''Anarchism: From Theory to Practice'' (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1970).&lt;/ref&gt; Proudhon proposed [[spontaneous order]], whereby organization emerges without central authority, a &quot;positive anarchy&quot; where order arises when everybody does “what he wishes and only what he wishes&quot;&lt;ref&gt; Proudhon, ''Solution to the Social Problem'', ed. H. Cohen (New York: Vanguard Press, 1927), p.45. &lt;/ref&gt; and where &quot;business transactions alone produce the social order.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Proudon, Pierre-Joseph. The Federal Principle. &quot;The notion of ''anarchy'' in politics is just as rational and positive as any other. It means that once industrial functions have taken over from political functions, then business transactions alone produce the social order.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; Like Godwin, Proudhon opposed violent revolutionary action. He saw anarchy as &quot;a form of government or constitution in which public and private consciousness, formed through the development of science and law, is alone sufficient to maintain order and guarantee all liberties. In it, as a consequence, the institutions of the police, preventive and repressive methods, officialdom, taxation, etc., are reduced to a minimum. In it, more especially, the forms of monarchy and intensive centralization disappear, to be replaced by federal institutions and a pattern of life based on the commune.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;''Selected Writings'', Pierre-Joseph Proudhon&lt;/ref&gt;
==Schools of thought==
{{main|Anarchist schools of thought}}
===Mutualism===
[[Image:Proudhon.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mutualism (economic theory)|Mutualist]] [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]] was the first self-described anarchist.]]
{{main|Mutualism (economic theory)}}
Mutualism began in 19th century English and French labor movements, then took an anarchist form associated with [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]] in France and others in the US.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;A member of a community,&quot; ''The Mutualist''; this 1826 series criticized [[Robert Owen]]'s proposals, and has been attributed to Josiah Warren or another dissident Owenite in the same circles; Wilbur, Shawn, 2006, &quot;More from the 1826 &quot;Mutualist&quot;?&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; This influenced individualist anarchists in the United States such as [[Benjamin Tucker]] and [[William B. Greene]]; In the 1840s and 1850s, [[Charles A. Dana]],&lt;ref&gt;Dana, Charles A. ''[http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/proudhon/dana.html Proudhon and his &quot;Bank of the People&quot;]'' (1848).&lt;/ref&gt; and Greene introduced Proudhon's works to the US. Greene adapted Proudhon's mutualism to American conditions and introduced it to Tucker.&lt;ref&gt;Tucker, Benjamin R., &quot;On Picket Duty&quot;, ''Liberty (Not the Daughter but the Mother of Order) (1881-1908)''; [[5 January]] [[1889]]; 6, 10; APS Online pg. 1&lt;/ref&gt;

Mutualist anarchism is concerned with reciprocity, free association, voluntary contract, federation, and credit and currency reform. Many mutualists{{who?}} believe a market without government intervention drives prices to labor-costs, eliminating profit, rent, and interest according to the [[labor theory of value]]. Firms would be forced to compete over workers just as workers compete over firms, raising wages.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;Communism versus Mutualism&quot;, ''Socialistic, Communistic, Mutualistic and Financial Fragments''. (Boston: Lee &amp; Shepard, 1875)|[[William Batchelder Greene]]: &quot;Under the mutual system, each individual will receive the just and exact pay for his work; services equivalent in cost being exchangeable for services equivalent in cost, without profit or discount; and so much as the individual laborer will then get over and above what he has earned will come to him as his share in the general prosperity of the community of which he is an individual member.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt;

Some see mutualism as an ideology falling between individualist and collectivist anarchism.&lt;ref&gt;Avrich, Paul. ''Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America'', Princeton University Press 1996 ISBN 0-691-04494-5, p.6&lt;br/&gt;Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought, Blackwell Publishing 1991 ISBN 0-631-17944-5, p.11&lt;/ref&gt; In ''What Is Property?'', Proudhon develops a concept of &quot;liberty&quot;, equivalent to &quot;anarchy&quot;, which is the dialectical &quot;synthesis of communism and property.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph [http://etext.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/ProProp.html ''What is Property?''] (1840), p. 281&lt;/ref&gt; Greene, influenced by [[Pierre Leroux]], sought mutualism in the synthesis of three philosophies — communism, capitalism and socialism.&lt;ref&gt;Greene, William B. &quot;Communism — Capitalism — Socialism&quot;, ''Equality'' (1849)[http://www.libertarian-labyrinth.org/greene/wbg-css.html], p. 59. &lt;/ref&gt; Later individualist anarchists used the term mutualism but retained little emphasis on synthesis, while [[social anarchism|social anarchists]] such as the authors of [[An Anarchist FAQ]] claim mutualism as a subset of their philosophical tradition.&lt;ref name=&quot;faq-social&quot;/&gt;

===Individualist anarchism===
{{main|Individualist anarchism}}
Individualist anarchism comprises &quot;several traditions&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Ward, Colin. ''Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction''. [[Oxford University Press]], 2004, p. 2&lt;/ref&gt; which hold that &quot;individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective body or public authority.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Heywood, Andrew, Key Concepts in Politics, Palgrave, ISBN 0-312-23381-7, 2000, p. 46&lt;/ref&gt; Individualist anarchism is supportive of property being held privately, unlike the social/socialist/collectivist/communitarian wing which advocates common ownership.&lt;ref&gt;Freeden, Micheal. ''Ideologies and Political Theory: A Conceptual Approach''. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019829414X. pp. 314&lt;/ref&gt;  Individualist anarchism has been espoused by individuals such as [[Henry David Thoreau]]&lt;ref&gt;Johnson, Ellwood. ''The Goodly Word: The Puritan Influence in America Literature'', Clements Publishing, 2005, p. 138: &quot;…a political theory that has usually been named 'anarchist individualism'…The theory, however, does not advocate anarchism in the sense, for example, of the destruction of institutions; its purpose is only description. Emersonian and Thoreauavian anarchism does not call for any specifiable program of rebellion or destruction of social institutions, but merely asserts one abiding truth…&quot; ''Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences'', edited by Edwin Robert Anderson Seligman, Alvin Saunders Johnson, 1937, p. 12: &quot;The noblest and most eloquent statement of this essentially anarchist individualism came a generation later in Thoreau's essay on Civil Disobedience&quot; Bool, Henry, [http://praxeology.net/HB-AJA.htm'' Henry Bool's Apology for His Jeffersonian Anarchism''], 1901: &quot;I am a believer in the doctrines of the individualistic school of Anarchists, to which Garrison, Emerson, Proudhon, Thoreau, Spooner, Andrews, Warren and Tucker belong.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; [[Josiah Warren]], and [[Murray Rothbard]]. [[William Godwin]], regarded by some as an individualist anarchist,&lt;ref&gt;Woodcock,  George. 2004. ''Anarchism: A History Of Libertarian Ideas And Movements''. Broadview Press. p. 20&lt;/ref&gt; advocated benevolence but also defended the sanctity of &quot;private judgement&quot; for each individual over his own labor and his property, and predicted a progressive rationalism that would result in government becoming smaller over time until eventual disappearance.
[[Image:Max stirner.jpg|thumb|[[19th century philosophy|19th century philosopher]] [[Max Stirner]], a prominent early [[individualist anarchist]] (sketch by [[Friedrich Engels]]).]]
One of the earliest and best-known proponents of individualist anarchism was [[Max Stirner]],&lt;ref name=&quot;SEP-Stirner&quot;&gt;{{sep entry|max-stirner|Max Stirner}}&lt;/ref&gt; who wrote ''[[The Ego and Its Own]]'' (1844), a &quot;founding text&quot; of the philosophy.&lt;ref name = &quot;SEP-Stirner&quot;/&gt; [[Philosophy of Max Stirner|Stirner's philosophy]] was an &quot;[[Egoism|egoist]]&quot; form of individualist anarchism according to which the individual does as he/she pleases, taking no notice of God, state, or moral rules,&lt;ref&gt;Miller, David. &quot;anarchism.&quot; 1987. The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought. Blackwell Publishing. p 11&lt;/ref&gt; and society has no responsibility for its members.&lt;ref&gt;Heider, Ulrike. ''Anarchism: Left, Right and Green'', San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1994, pp. 95-96&lt;/ref&gt; To Stirner, rights were ''[[reification|spooks]]'' in the mind, and society does not exist but &quot;the individuals are its reality&quot; — he supported property as possession by might rather than right.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;What my might reaches is my property; and let me claim as property everything I feel myself strong enough to attain, and let me extend my actual property as fas as ''I'' entitle, that is, empower myself to take…&quot; In Ossar, Michael. 1980. Anarchism in the Dramas of Ernst Toller. SUNY Press. p. 27&lt;/ref&gt; Stirner preached self-assertion and foresaw &quot;associations of egoists&quot; where respect for ruthlessness drew people together.&lt;ref&gt;Woodcock. George. 2004. Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements. Broadview Press. p 20&lt;/ref&gt;

A &quot;less radical&quot;&lt;ref name=encarta7/&gt; form of individualist anarchism was advocated by the &quot;Boston anarchists,&quot; individualists who supported private property and a [[free market]].&lt;ref&gt;&quot;Anarchism is a word without meaning, unless it includes the liberty of the individual to control his product or whatever his product has brought him through exchange in a free market - that is, private property. Whoever denies private property is of necessity an Archist.&quot; &quot;Anarchism and Property&quot;, by Benjamin Tucker in ''The New Freewoman'', [[November 15]] [[1913]]&lt;/ref&gt; They advocated the protection of liberty and property by private contractors,&lt;ref&gt;[[Benjamin Tucker]], &quot;defense is a service like any other service; that it is labor both useful and desired, and therefore an economic commodity subject to the law of supply and demand; that in a free market this commodity would be furnished at the cost of production; that, competition prevailing, patronage would go to those who furnished the best article at the lowest price; that the production and sale of this commodity are now monopolized by the State; and that the State, like almost all monopolists, charges exorbitant prices&quot; &quot;Instead of a Book&quot; (1893)&lt;br/&gt;
&quot;Anarchism does not exclude prisons, officials, military, or other symbols of force. It merely demands that non-invasive men shall not be made the victims of such force. Anarchism is not the reign of love, but the reign of justice. It does not signify the abolition of force-symbols but the application of force to real invaders.&quot; Tucker, Benjamin. ''Liberty'' [[October 19]] [[1891]].&lt;/ref&gt; and endorsed exchange of labor for wages,&lt;ref&gt;Tucker, Benjamin. &quot;[http://flag.blackened.net/daver/anarchism/tucker/tucker37.html Labor and Its Pay]&quot;, from ''Individual Liberty: Selections from the Writings of Benjamin T. Tucker''&lt;/ref&gt; although they believed [[state monopoly capitalism]] (defined as a state-sponsored monopoly&lt;ref name=schwartzman&gt;Schwartzman, Jack. '&quot;Ingalls, Hanson, and Tucker: Nineteenth-Century American Anarchists&quot;. ''American Journal of Economics and Sociology'', Vol. 62, No. 5 (November, 2003). p. 325&lt;/ref&gt; didn't fully reward labor. Even among the nineteenth century American individualists, there was not a monolothic doctrine, as they disagree amongst each other on various issues. For example, Tucker opposed intellectual property rights while Spooner supported them.&lt;ref&gt;Spooner, Lysander. [http://lysanderspooner.org/intellect/contents.htm ''The Law of Intellectual Property'']&lt;/ref&gt; Tucker supported property in land only while it was being used or occupied, while Byington and Spooner had no such restrictions for property.&lt;ref&gt;Carl Watner. {{PDFlink|[http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/1_4/1_4_4.pdf Benjamin Tucker and His Periodical]|868&amp;nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]&lt;!-- application/pdf, 889419 bytes --&gt;}}, Liberty. ''[[Journal of Libertarian Studies]]'', Vol. 1, No. 4, p. 308&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Watner, Carl. {{PDFlink|[http://www.mises.org/journals/lf/1975/1975_03.pdf Spooner Vs. Liberty]|1.20&amp;nbsp;[[Mebibyte|MiB]]&lt;!-- application/pdf, 1262532 bytes --&gt;}} in The Libertarian Forum. March 1975. Volume VII, No 3. ISSN 0047-4517. pp. 5-6.&lt;/ref&gt;  A major cleft occurred later in the 19th century when Tucker, and some others, abandoned [[natural rights]] and converted to an &quot;egoism&quot; modeled upon [[Philosophy of Max Stirner|Stirner's philosophy]].&lt;ref&gt;Watner, Carl. 1977. &quot;Benjamin Tucker and His Periodical, ''Liberty''.&quot; ''[[Journal of Libertarian Studies]]''&lt;/ref&gt; Some, like Tucker, identified themselves as &quot;socialist&quot; – a term which at the time denoted a broad concept – which he understood to refer to many ideas aimed at solving &quot;the labor problem&quot; by radically changing the economy.&lt;ref&gt;Brooks, Frank H. 1994. ''The Individualist Anarchists: An Anthology of Liberty'' (1881-1908). Transaction Publishers. p. 75.&lt;/ref&gt;) 

By the turn of the century, &quot;the heyday of individualist anarchism had passed.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Avrich, Paul. 2006. Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America. AK Press. p. 6&lt;/ref&gt; However, individualist anarchism was later revived with modifications by [[Murray Rothbard]] and the anarcho-capitalists in the mid-twentieth century, as a current of the broader [[libertarian]] movement.&lt;ref name=encarta7&gt;Levy, Carl. &quot;[http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761568770_1/Anarchism.html Anarchism]&quot;. Microsoft [[Encarta]] Online Encyclopedia 2007.&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Miller, David. &quot;Anarchism&quot;. ''The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought'' 1987. p. 11&lt;/ref&gt;

=== Social anarchism ===
{{main|Social anarchism}}
====Collectivist anarchism====
{{main|Collectivist anarchism}}
[[Image:Bakuninfull.jpg|thumb|right|Collectivist anarchist [[Mikhail Bakunin]] opposed the [[Marxist]] aim of [[dictatorship of the proletariat]] in favour of universal rebellion.&lt;ref name=bbc/&gt;]] 
Collectivist anarchism (a specific tendency not to be confused with the broad category sometimes called [[collectivist]] or [[communitarian]] anarchism&lt;ref&gt;Morris, Christopher W. 1998. ''An Essay on the Modern State''. Cambridge University Press. p 50. The collectivist ''category'' is also sometimes known as social, socialist, or communitarian anarchism category.&lt;/ref&gt;) is most commonly associated with [[Mikhail Bakunin]] and with [[Johann Most]].&lt;ref&gt;Avrich, Paul. 2006. ''Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America''. [[AK Press]]. p. 5&lt;/ref&gt; Unlike mutualists, collectivist anarchists oppose all private ownership of the means of production, instead advocating that ownership be collectivized. However, collectivization was not to be extended to the distribution of income, as workers would be paid according to time worked, rather than receiving goods being distributed &quot;according to need&quot; as in anarcho-communism. Although the collectivist anarchists advocated compensation for labor, some held out the possibility of a post-revolutionary transition to a communist system of distribution according to need.&lt;ref&gt;Bakunin's associate, [[James Guillaume]], put it this way in his essay, ''[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/guillaume/works/ideas.htm Ideas on Social Organization]''(1876): &quot;When… production comes to outstrip consumption… [e]veryone will draw what he needs from the abundant social reserve of commodities, without fear of depletion; and the moral sentiment which will be more highly developed among free and equal workers will prevent, or greatly reduce, abuse and waste.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; Collective anarchism arose contemporaneously with [[Marxism]] but opposed the Marxist [[dictatorship of the proletariat]], despite Marxism striving for a collectivist stateless society.&lt;ref&gt;Bakunin, Mikhail; ''[http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan/anarfaq.htm Statism and Anarchism]'': &quot;They [the Marxists] maintain that only a dictatorship — their dictatorship, of course — can create the will of the people, while our answer to this is: No dictatorship can have any other aim but that of self-perpetuation, and it can beget only slavery in the people tolerating it; freedom can be created only by freedom, that is, by a universal rebellion on the part of the people and free organization of the toiling masses from the bottom up.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt;

====Anarchist communism====
{{main|Anarchist communism}}
[[Image:Kropotkin Nadar.jpg|thumb|left|Anarcho-communist [[Peter Kropotkin]] believed that in [[anarchy]], workers would spontaneously self-organize to produce goods in common for all society.]]
Anarchist communists propose that a society composed of a number of [[self-governance|self-governing]] [[Commune (socialism)|communes]] with [[collectivism|collective]] use of the [[means of production]] and [[direct democracy]] as the political organizational form, and related to other communes through [[federation]] would be the freest form of social organisation.&lt;ref name=&quot;LibCom&quot;/&gt; However, some anarchist communists oppose the majoritarian nature of direct democracy, feeling that it can impede individual liberty and favor [[consensus democracy]].&lt;ref&gt;[[David Graeber|Graeber, David]] and Grubacic, Andrej. ''Anarchism, Or The Revolutionary Movement Of The Twenty-first Century''&lt;/ref&gt; [[Joseph Déjacque]] was an early anarchist communist and the first person to describe himself as &quot;[[libertarian socialism|libertarian]]&quot;.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;[http://joseph.dejacque.free.fr/ecrits/lettreapjp.htm De l'être-humain mâle et femelle - Lettre à P.J. Proudhon par Joseph Déjacque]&quot; (in [[French language|French]])&lt;/ref&gt;

In anarchist communism, individuals would not receive direct [[Remuneration|compensation]] for labour (through sharing of [[profit]]s or payment), but would instead have free access to the resources and surplus of the [[Commune (socialism)|commune]].&lt;ref&gt;Miller. ''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought'', Blackwell Publishing (1991) ISBN 0-631-17944-5, p. 12&lt;/ref&gt; According to Kropotkin and later [[Murray Bookchin]], the members of such a society will spontaneously perform all necessary labour because they will recognize the benefits of communal enterprise and mutual aid.&lt;ref&gt;
* Kropotkin, Peter ''[[Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution]]'', 1998 paperback, London: Freedom Press. ISBN 0-900384-36-0, also at [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4341 Project Gutenburg]
* Kropotkin, Peter ''[[The Conquest of Bread]]'', first published 1892, also at [http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/kropotkin/conquest/toc.html Anarchy Archives]
* Kropotkin, Peter ''[[Fields, Factories and Workshops]]'', available at [http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/kropotkin/fields.html Anarchy Archives]
* Bookchin, Murray ''[[Post Scarcity Anarchism]]'' (1971 and 2004) ISBN 1-904859-06-2.&lt;/ref&gt; Kropotkin believed that [[private property]] was one of the causes of oppression and exploitation and called for its abolition.&lt;ref name=kropcon/&gt;&lt;ref&gt;[[Peter Kropotkin|Kropotkin]], Peter. ''Words of a Rebel'', p99.&lt;/ref&gt; In opposition to private property he advocated common ownership, proposing that &quot;houses, field, and factories will no longer be private property [but] will be belong to the commune or the nation.&quot;&lt;ref name=kropcon&gt;Kropotkin, Peter. 1907. ''The Conquest of Bread''. Putnam. p. 202&lt;/ref&gt;

The status of anarchist communism within anarchism is disputed, because it is seen by individualist anarchists and anarcho-capitalists as incompatible with [[freedom]].&lt;ref&gt;Yarros, Victor S. &quot;A Princely Paradox&quot;, ''Liberty'', Vol 4. No. 19, Saturday, April 9, 1887, Whole Number 97; Tucker, Benjamin. &quot;Labor and Its Pay&quot;; Appleton, Henry. &quot;Anarchism, True and False&quot;, ''Liberty'' 2.24, no. 50, 6 September 1884, p. 4; Swartz, Clarence Lee. ''What is Mutualism?''; Rothbard, Murray. &quot;[http://www.mises.org/story/2197 The Death Wish of the Anarcho-Communists]&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; Some [[anarcho-syndicalism|anarcho-syndicalists]] saw an anarcho-communist society as their objective; for example, the Spanish CNT adopted [[Isaac Puente]]'s 1932 ''El comunismo libertario''&lt;ref name=&quot;LibCom&quot;&gt;[[Isaac Puente|Puente, Isaac]]. [http://flag.blackened.net/liberty/libcom.html &quot;Libertarian Communism&quot;]. ''The Cienfuegos Press Anarchist Review''. Issue 6 Orkney 1982 &lt;/ref&gt; as its manifesto for a post-revolutionary society. [[Platformism]] is an anarchist communist tendency in the tradition of [[Nestor Makhno]] who argued for the &quot;vital need of an organization which, having attracted most of the participants in the anarchist movement, would establish a common tactical and political line for anarchism and thereby serve as a guide for the whole movement.&quot;&lt;ref name=Platformtext&gt;{{cite book | last = Dielo Trouda | authorlink = Dielo Trouda | title = Organizational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft) | origyear = 1926 | url = http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=1000 | accessdate = 2006-10-24 | year = 2006 | publisher = FdCA | location = Italy}}&lt;/ref&gt; Some anarcho-communists{{who?|date=October 2007}} are strongly influenced by radical individualist and egoist philosophy and believe that anarcho-communism does not require a communitarian nature at all. Some forms of [[libertarian communism]] are strongly [[Ethical egoism|Egoist]] in nature.&lt;ref&gt;Christopher Gray, ''Leaving the Twentieth Century'', p. 88.&lt;/ref&gt; Anarcho-communist [[Emma Goldman]] was influenced by both Max Stirner and Kropotkin and blended their philosophies together in her own.&lt;ref&gt;Emma Goldman, ''Anarchism and Other Essays'', p. 50.&lt;/ref&gt;

====Anarcho-syndicalism====
{{main|Syndicalism|Anarcho-syndicalism}}
[[Image:Anarchist flag.svg|right|thumb|A common anarcho-syndicalist flag.]]
{{rewrite-section}}
In the early twentieth century anarcho-syndicalism arose as a distinct school of thought within anarchism. With greater focus on the labour movement than previous forms of anarchism, syndicalism posits radical [[trade union]]s as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the state with a new society, democratically [[Workers' self-management|self-managed by the workers]]. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system and private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions. Important principles of syndicalism include workers' solidarity, [[direct action]] (such as [[general strike]]s and [[recovered factory|workplace recuperations]]), and [[workers' self-management]].

Anarcho-syndicalism and other branches of anarchism are not mutually exclusive: anarcho-syndicalists often subscribe to communist or collectivist anarchism. Its advocates propose labour organization as a means to create the foundations of a non-hierarchical anarchist society within the current system and bring about social revolution. 
According to [[An Anarchist FAQ]], anarcho-syndicalist economic systems often take the form of either a [[Collectivist anarchism|collectivist anarchist]] economic system or a [[anarcho-communism|anarcho-communist]] economic system.&lt;ref name=&quot;faq-social&quot;&gt;&quot;[http://www.infoshop.org/faq/secA3.html#seca32Are there different types of social anarchism?]&quot;, [[An Anarchist FAQ]]. Retrieved [[2007-12-13]].&lt;/ref&gt;

[[Rudolf Rocker]] was a leading early anarcho-syndicalist thinker who outlined a view of the origins of the movement, what it sought, and why it was important to the future of labour in his 1938 pamphlet ''Anarchosyndicalism''.&lt;ref name=&quot;faq-social&quot;/&gt;&lt;ref&gt;[http://www.spunk.org/library/writers/rocker/sp001495/rocker_as1.html ''Anarchosyndicalism]'' by [[Rudolf Rocker]], retrieved [[7 September]] [[2006]]&lt;/ref&gt; Although more frequently associated with labor struggles of the early twentieth century (particularly in [[Anarchism in France|France]] and [[Anarchism in Spain|Spain]]), many syndicalist organizations are active today, including the [[Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden|SAC]] in Sweden, the [[Unione Sindacale Italiana|USI]] in Italy, and the [[Confederación Nacional del Trabajo|CNT]] in Spain. A number of these organizations are united across national borders by membership in the [[International Workers Association]].

=== Recently-developed schools of thought ===
[[Image:Bey hakim.jpg|thumb|right|[[Temporary Autonomous Zone]] theorist [[Peter Lamborn Wilson|Hakim Bey]] is an influential figure in contemporary anarchist circles.]]
Anarchism continues to generate many eclectic and [[Syncretic politics|syncretic]] philosophies and movements; since the revival of anarchism in the [[U.S.A.|U.S.]] in the 1960s,&lt;ref name=&quot;revival&quot;&gt;{{cite journal
 | last = Williams
 | first = Leonard
 | year = 2007
 | month = September
 | title = Anarchism Revived
 | journal = New Political Science
 | volume = 29
 | issue = 3
 | pages = 297 - 312
 | doi = 10.1080/07393140701510160
 | accessdate = 2007-12-04
 }}
&lt;/ref&gt; a number of new movements and schools have emerged.

[[Post-left anarchy]] seeks to distance itself from the traditional &quot;[[left-wing politics|left]]&quot; and to escape the confines of [[ideology]] in general. Post-leftists argue that anarchism has been weakened by its long attachment to contrary &quot;leftist&quot; movements and single issue causes and calls for a synthesis of anarchist thought and a specifically anti-authoritarian revolutionary movement outside of the leftist milieu. [[Post-anarchism]] is a theoretical move towards a synthesis of classical anarchist theory and [[poststructuralist]] thought developed by [[Saul Newman]] and associated with thinkers such as [[Todd May]], [[Gilles Deleuze]] and [[Félix Guattari]]. It draws from a wide range of ideas including [[autonomism]], post-left anarchy, [[situationism]], [[post-colonialism]] and Zapatismo. Another recent form of anarchism critical of formal anarchist movements is [[insurrectionary anarchism]] which advocates informal organization and active resistance to the state; its proponents include [[Wolfi Landstreicher]] and [[Alfredo M. Bonanno]].

====Anarcho-capitalism====
{{main|Anarcho-capitalism}}
[[Image:Murray Rothbard.jpg|thumb|left|[[Murray Rothbard]] (1926–1995), 20th century progenitor of anarcho-capitalism.]]
Anarcho-capitalism (also ''free-[[market anarchism]]''&lt;ref&gt;&quot;This volume honors the foremost contemporary exponent of free-market anarchism. One contributor describes Murray Rothbard as 'the most ideologically committed zero-State academic economist on earth'.&quot; Review by Lawrence H. White of &quot;Man, Economy, and Liberty: Essays in honor of Murray N. Rothbard&quot;, published in ''Journal of Economic Literature'', Vol XXVIII, June 1990, page 664&lt;/ref&gt;) is a political philosophy &quot;based on a belief in the freedom to own [[private property]], a rejection of any form of governmental authority or intervention, and the upholding of the competitive free market as the main mechanism for social interaction.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;&quot;Anarcho-capitalism.&quot; ''Oxford English Dictionary''. 2004. [[Oxford University Press]].&lt;/ref&gt; Anarcho-capitalism has a theory of [[legitimacy]] that supports private property as long as it was obtained by labor, trade, or gift.&lt;ref name=confiscation&gt;Rothbard, Murray (1969) {{PDFlink|[http://mises.org/journals/lf/1969/1969_06_15.pdf ''Confiscation and the Homestead Principle'']|580&amp;nbsp;[[Kibibyte|KiB]]&lt;!-- application/pdf, 594473 bytes --&gt;}} ''The Libertarian Forum'' Vol. I, No. VI ([[June 15]] [[1969]]) Retrieved [[5 August]] [[2006]]&lt;/ref&gt; In an anarcho-capitalist society, its proponents hold, voluntary market processes would result in the provision of social institutions such as [[law enforcement]], [[national defence|defence]] and [[infrastructure]] by competing for-profit firms, [[Charity (practice)|charities]] or [[voluntaryism|voluntary associations]].&lt;ref&gt;[[Karl Hess|Hess, Karl]]. &quot;[http://fare.tunes.org/books/Hess/dop.html The Death of Politics]&quot;. ''Playboy Magazine'', March 1969&lt;/ref&gt; rather than [[the state]]. 

Anarcho-capitalism has drawn influence from pro-market theorists such as [[Gustave de Molinari]], [[Frederic Bastiat]], and [[Robert Nozick]], as well as American invidualist thinkers such as [[Benjamin Tucker]] and [[Lysander Spooner]].&lt;ref&gt;DeLeon, David. The American as Anarchist: Reflections on Indigenous Radicalism. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1978, p. 127&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;''Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought'', 1987, ISBN 0-631-17944-5, p. 290: &quot;A student and disciple of the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises, Rothbard combined the laissez-faire economics of his teacher with the absolutist views of human rights and rejection of the state he had absorbed from studying the individualist American anarchists of the nineteenth century such as Lysander Spooner and Benjamin Tucker. (Rothbard himself is on the anarchist wing of the movement.)&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; It has been characterised as a form of [[individualist anarchism]].&lt;ref&gt;Adams, Ian. 2002. ''Political Ideology Today''. p. 135. Manchester University Press; Ostergaard, Geoffrey. 2003. &quot;Anarchism&quot;. ''The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought''. W. Outwaite ed. Blackwell Publishing. p. 14.&lt;/ref&gt; However, unlike the version of individualist anarchism held by Tucker and Spooner, it rejects the [[labor theory of value]] and its [[Norm (philosophy)|normative]] implications in favor of the [[Neo-classical economics|neo-classical]] [[Marginalism|marginalist]] view. Anarcho-capitalist ideas have in turn contributed to the development of [[agorism]],&lt;ref name=&quot;newlibman&quot;/&gt; [[autarchism]], market-oriented [[left-libertarianism]],&lt;ref name=&quot;newlibman&quot;&gt;{{cite book | last = Konkin | first = Samuel Edward | title = New Libertarian Manifesto | publisher = KoPubCo year = 2006 | isbn = 9780977764921 }} ([http://agorism.info/NewLibertarianManifesto.pdf online version])&lt;/ref&gt; and [[crypto-anarchism]].&lt;ref&gt;Vernor Vinge, James Frankel. ''True Names: And the Opening of the Cyberspace Frontier'' (2001), Tor Books, p.44&lt;/ref&gt;

Anarcho-capitalism has been advocated on both [[natural rights]]-based &lt;ref&gt;[[Murray Rothbard]] and [[Hans-Hermann Hoppe]]&lt;/ref&gt; and [[utilitarian]]&lt;ref&gt;e.g. by [[David D. Friedman]]&lt;/ref&gt; grounds. Because of the historically [[anti-capitalist]] nature of most anarchist thought, the status of [[anarchism and anarcho-capitalism|anarcho-capitalism within anarchism]] is disputed, [[anarcho-communism|communist anarchists]] [having] been particularly keen to remove individualists anarchists such as [[Murray Rothbard]] from literary accounts of anarchism.&lt;ref&gt;Jainendra, Jha. 2002. &quot;Anarchism&quot;. ''Encyclopedia of Teaching of Civics and Political Science''. p. 52. Anmol Publications.&lt;/ref&gt; Rothbard distinguished free-market capitalism – peaceful voluntary exchange&lt;ref&gt;Rothbard, Murray N. &quot;A Future of Peace and Capitalism&quot;. ''Modern Political Economy''. James H. Weaver (ed.). pp 419. Allyn and Bacon.&lt;/ref&gt; – from &quot;[[state capitalism]]&quot; which he defined as a collusive partnership between [[big business]] and government that uses [[coercion]] to subvert the free market.&lt;ref&gt;Murray Rothbard, A Future of Peace and Capitalism; Murray Rothbard, Left and Right: The Prospects for Liberty.&lt;/ref&gt; In this spirit, Rothbard stated that &quot;capitalism is the fullest expression of anarchism, and anarchism is the fullest expression of capitalism.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;&quot;[http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard103.html Exclusive Interview With Murray Rothbard]&quot; ''The New Banner: A Fortnightly Libertarian Journal''. [[25 February]], [[1972]].&lt;/ref&gt;
==== Anarcha-feminism ====
{{main|Anarcha-feminism}}
[[Image:Anfem.svg|thumb|A purple and black flag is often used to represent [[Anarcha-feminism]].]]
Anarcha-feminism synthesizes [[radical feminism]] and anarchism that views [[patriarchy]] (male domination over women) as a fundamental manifestation of involuntary hierarchy to which anarchists are opposed. Anarcha-feminism was inspired in the late [[19th century]] by the writings of early feminist anarchists such as [[Lucy Parsons]], [[Emma Goldman]] and [[Voltairine de Cleyre]]. Anarcha-feminists, like other radical feminists, criticize and advocate the abolition of traditional conceptions of family, education and [[gender role]]s. Anarcha-feminists also often criticize the views of some of the traditional anarchists such as [[Mikhail Bakunin]] who have believed that patriarchy is only a minor problem and is dependent only on the existence of the state and capitalism and will disappear soon after such institutions are abolished.{{disputed-inline}} Anarcha-feminists by contrast view patriarchy as a fundamental problem in society and believe that the feminist struggle against sexism and patriarchy is a essential component of the anarchist struggle against the [[state]] and [[capitalism]]. [[L. Susan Brown]] expressed the sentiment that &quot;as anarchism is a political philosophy that opposes all relationships of power, it is inherently feminist&quot;.&lt;ref&gt;[[L. Susan Brown|Brown, Susan]]. &quot;Beyond Feminism:  Anarchism and Human Freedom&quot; ''Anarchist Papers 3'' Black Rose Books (1990) p. 208&lt;/ref&gt;

====Green anarchism====
{{main|Green anarchism}}
{{rewrite-section}}
[[Image:Darker green and Black flag.svg|right|thumb|Green and black flag of Green Anarchism.]]
Green anarchism is a school of thought within anarchism which emphasizes [[the environment]]. Primitivist and anti-civilization green anarchists advocate a return to a [[pre-industrial]] and usually pre-agricultural society.&lt;ref&gt;Nocella, Anthony. Best, Stephen. 'Igniting a Revolution: Voices in Defense of the Earth' AK Press (2006) pg.23&lt;/ref&gt; They critique [[industrial civilization]] from the perspective that [[technology]] and [[technology development|development]] have [[Social alienation|alienated]] people from the natural world.{{Who|date=October 2007}} This strand of green anarchism philosophy develops themes present in the political action of the [[Luddites]] and the writings of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]], although when primitivism emerged it was influenced more directly by the works of theorists such as the [[Frankfurt School]] [[Marxists]] [[Theodor Adorno]] and [[Herbert Marcuse]]; and [[anthropologists]] [[Marshall Sahlins]] and [[Richard Borshay Lee]]. Green anarchists such as [[Derrick Jensen]] and [[John Zerzan]], identifying themselves as primitivists, advocate a complete process of '[[rewilding]]' and a return to [[nomadic]] [[hunter-gatherer]] lifestyles.&lt;ref&gt;''Endgame, Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization'', Seven Stories Press (ISBN 1-58322-730-X)&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref name=WhatIsAnarchism&gt;[http://www.insurgentdesire.org.uk/whatisanarchism.htm John Zerzan - What is Anarchism?]&lt;/ref&gt; 

Other green anarchists{{who?|date=November 2007}} only wish to see an end to industrial society and do not necessarily oppose [[domestication]] or [[agriculture]]. Yet other green anarchists{{who?|date=November 2007}} focus not on a post-revolutionary future, but on defense of the earth and social revolution in the present. Many non-primitivist green anarchists, such as anthropologist [[Brian Morris (anthropologist)|Brian Morris]], are influenced by the [[social ecology]] of [[Murray Bookchin]].

===Anarchism without adjectives===
{{main|Anarchism without adjectives}}
[[Image:Cleyere.jpg|thumb|left|[[Voltairine de Cleyre]] was an anarchist without adjectives active in the late 19th century who rejected socialist/communist forms of anarchism for their need for regulation, and mutualist/individualist forms for their hard [[propertarian]]ism.]]
''Anarchism without adjectives'', in the words of historian George Richard Esenwein, &quot;referred to an [[hyphen|unhyphenated]] form of anarchism, that is, a doctrine without any qualifying labels such as [[Anarchist communism|communist]], [[collectivism|collectivist]], [[Mutualism (economic theory)|mutualist]], or [[individualist anarchism|individualist]]. For others,…[it] was simply understood as an attitude that tolerated the coexistence of different anarchist schools&quot;.&lt;ref&gt;Esenwein, George Richard &quot;Anarchist Ideology and the Working Class Movement in Spain, 1868-1898&quot; [p. 135] &lt;/ref&gt; ''Anarchism without adjectives'' emphasizes harmony between various anarchist factions and attempts to unite them around their shared anti-authoritarian beliefs. 
The expression was coined by [[Cuba]]n-born [[Fernando Tarrida del Mármol]], who used it in [[Barcelona]] in November 1889 as a call for [[tolerance]], after being troubled by the &quot;bitter debates&quot; between the different anarchist movements.&lt;ref&gt;Avrich, Paul. ''Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America''. Princeton University Press, 1996, p. 6&lt;/ref&gt; 

[[Voltairine de Cleyre]] was an anarchist without adjectives who initially identified herself as an individualist anarchist but later espoused a collectivist form of anarchism,&lt;ref&gt;&quot;The best thing ordinary workingmen or women could do was to organise their industry to get rid of money altogether…Let them produce together, co-operatively rather than as employer and employed; let them fraternise group by group, let each use what he needs of his own product, and deposit the rest in the storage-houses, and let those others who need goods have them as occasion arises.&quot; Voltairine De Cleyre, &quot;Why I Am an Anarchist&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; while refusing to identify herself with any of the contemporary schools. She commented that &quot;Socialism and Communism both demand a degree of joint effort and administration which would beget more regulation than is wholly consistent with ideal Anarchism; Individualism and Mutualism, resting upon property, involve a development of the private policeman not at all compatible with my notion of freedom&quot; although she stopped short of denouncing these tendencies as un-anarchistic.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;There is nothing un-Anarchistic about any of [these systems] until the element of compulsion enters and obliges unwilling persons to remain in a community whose economic arrangements they do not agree to.&quot;{{cn|date=January 2008}}&lt;/ref&gt; [[Errico Malatesta]] was another proponent of anarchism without adjectives, stating that &quot;[i]t is not right for us, to say the least, to fall into strife over mere hypotheses.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;[[Max Nettlau|Nettlau, Max]]. ''A Short History of Anarchism'' [p. 198-9]&lt;/ref&gt; [[Fred Woodworth]] is a contemporary anarchist without adjectives.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;I have no prefix or adjective for my anarchism. I think syndicalism can work, as can free-market [[anarcho-capitalism]], [[anarcho-communism]], even anarcho-hermits, depending on the situation. But I do have a strong [[individualist]] streak.&lt;br /&gt;''Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America'', [[Paul Avrich]] (2006). p. 475&lt;/ref&gt;

==Anarchism as a social movement==
{{Splitsection|date=August 2007}}
{{Citations missing|section|date=November 2007}}
Anarchism as a [[social movement]] has regularly endured fluctuations in popularity. Its classical period, which scholars demarcate as from 1860 to 1939, is associated with the working-class movements of the nineteenth century and the [[Spanish Civil War]]-era struggles against [[fascism]].&lt;ref&gt;Jonathan Purkis and James Bowen, &quot;Introduction: Why Anarchism Still Matters&quot;, in Jonathan Purkis and James Bowen (eds), ''Changing Anarchism: Anarchist Theory and Practice in a Global Age'' (Manchester: [[Manchester University Press]], 2004), p.3.&lt;/ref&gt;
===The First International===
[[Image:FRE-AIT.svg|thumb|right|Logo first used by the Federal Council of Spain of the International Workingmen's Association.]]
In Europe, harsh reaction followed the [[revolutions of 1848]],{{context needed}} but in 1864 the [[International Workingmen's Association]] (sometimes called the &quot;First International&quot;) united diverse revolutionary currents including French followers of [[Proudhon]], [[Blanquists]], [[Freemasons]] ([[Philadelphes]]), English trade unionists, [[socialists]] and [[social democrats]].{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Due to its links to active workers' movements, the International became a significant organization. [[Karl Marx]] became a leading figure in the International and a member of its General Council. Proudhon's followers, the [[Mutualism (economic theory)|mutualists]], opposed Marx's [[state socialism]], advocating political abstentionism and small property holdings.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} In 1868, following their unsuccessful participation in the [[League of Peace and Freedom]] (LPF), [[Mikhail Bakunin]] and his associates joined the First International - which had decided not to get involved with the LPF. They allied themselves with the anti-authoritarian socialist sections of the International, who advocated the revolutionary overthrow of the state and the collectivization of property. At first, the [[collectivist anarchism|collectivists]] worked with the Marxists to push the First International in a more revolutionary socialist direction. Subsequently, the International became polarized into two camps, with Marx and Bakunin as their respective figureheads.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}

Bakunin characterised Marx's ideas as [[Authoritarianism|authoritarian]] and predicted that, if a Marxist party came to power, its leaders would simply take the place of the [[ruling class]] they had fought against.&lt;ref name=&quot;bakuninmarx&quot;/&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite book|last=Bakunin|first=Mikhail|authorlink=Mikhail Bakunin|origyear=1873|year = 1991|title =Statism and Anarchy | publisher = Cambridge University Press| id = ISBN 0-521-36973-8}}&lt;/ref&gt; In 1872, the conflict climaxed with a final split between the two groups, when, at the [[Hague Congress (1872)|Hague Congress]], Marx engineered the expulsion of Bakunin and [[James Guillaume]] from the International and had its headquarters transferred to New York.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} In response, the anti-authoritarian sections formed their own International at the [[Anarchist St. Imier International|St. Imier Congress]], adopting a revolutionary anarchist program.&lt;ref name=Graham-05&gt;Graham, Robert '[http://www.blackrosebooks.net/anarism1.htm 'Anarchism''] (Montreal: Black Rose Books 2005) ISBN 1-55164-251-4&lt;/ref&gt;

===Anarchism and organized labor===
{{main|Anarcho-syndicalism|Anarchism in Spain}}
{{missing information|[[Haymarket Riot|The Haymarket Strike]]}}
[[Image:Woman with cntfai flag.jpg|thumb|left|Spanish anarcho-syndicalists successfully organized [[Anarchist communities#Spanish revolution .281936 to 1939.29|autonomous communities]] during the [[Spanish Revolution]] (1936 – 1939).]]
The anti-authoritarian sections of the First International were the precursors of the anarcho-syndicalists, seeking to &quot;replace the privilege and authority of the State&quot; with the &quot;free and spontaneous organization of labor.&quot;&lt;ref&gt; Resolutions from the St. Imier Congress, in ''Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas'', Vol. 1, p.100 [http://www.blackrosebooks.net/anarism1.htm]&lt;/ref&gt; In 1907, the [[International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam]] gathered delegates from 14 different countries, among which important figures of the [[anarchist movement]], including [[Errico Malatesta]], [[Pierre Monatte]], [[Luigi Fabbri]], [[Benoît Broutchoux]], [[Emma Goldman]], [[Rudolf Rocker]], [[Christiaan Cornelissen]], etc. Various themes were treated during the Congress, in particular concerning the organisation of the anarchist movement, [[popular education]] issues, the [[general strike]] or [[anti-militarism]]. A central debate concerned the relation between anarchism and [[syndicalism]] (or [[trade-union]]ism). Malatesta and Monatte in particular opposed themselves on this issue, as the latter thought that syndicalism was revolutionary and would create the conditions of a social [[revolution]], while Malatesta considered that syndicalism by itself was not sufficient.&lt;ref&gt;[http://www.fondation-besnard.org/article.php3?id_article=225 Extract of Malatesta's declaration] {{fr icon}}&lt;/ref&gt; Malatesta thought that trade-unions were [[reformist]], and could even be, at times, [[conservative]]. Along with Cornelissen, he cited as example [[Labor unions in the United States|US trade-unions]], where trade-unions composed of qualified workers sometimes opposed themselves to non-qualified workers in order to defend their relatively privileged position.

The Spanish Workers Federation in 1881 was the first major anarcho-syndicalist movement; anarchist trade union federations were of special importance in Spain. The most successful was the [[Confederación Nacional del Trabajo]] (National Confederation of Labour: CNT), founded in 1910. Before the 1940s, the CNT was the major force in Spanish working class politics and played a major role in the [[Spanish Civil War]]. The CNT was affiliated with the International Workers Association, a federation of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions founded in 1922, with delegates representing two million workers from 15 countries in Europe and Latin America. The largest organised anarchist movement today is in Spain, in the form of the [[Confederación General del Trabajo]] (CGT) and the [[CNT]]. CGT membership was estimated to be around 100,000 for the year 2003.&lt;ref&gt;Carley, Mark &quot;Trade union membership 1993-2003&quot; (International:SPIRE Associates 2004)&lt;/ref&gt; Other active syndicalist movements include the US [[Workers Solidarity Alliance]] and the UK [[Solidarity Federation]]. The revolutionary industrial unionist [[Industrial Workers of the World]], claiming 2,000 paying members, and the [[International Workers Association]], an anarcho-syndicalist successor to the [[First International]], also remain active.

===The Russian Revolution===
{{main|Russian Revolution of 1917}}
[[Image:Goldmanberkman.jpeg|thumb|right|Anarchists [[Emma Goldman]] and [[Alexander Berkman]] resisted [[Bolshevik]] consolidation of power following the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]].]]
Anarchists participated alongside the [[Bolsheviks]] in both February and October revolutions, many anarchists initially supporting the Bolshevik coup. However, the Bolsheviks soon turned against the anarchists and other left-wing opposition, a conflict that culminated in the 1921 [[Kronstadt rebellion]]. Anarchists in central Russia were either imprisoned or driven underground or joined the victorious Bolsheviks. In the [[Free Territory (Ukraine)|Ukraine]], anarchists fought in the [[Russian Civil War|civil war]] against Whites and then the Bolsheviks as part of the [[Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine]] led by [[Nestor Makhno]], who attempted to establish an anarchist society in the region for a number of months.

Expelled American anarchists [[Emma Goldman]] and [[Alexander Berkman]] were amongst those agitating in response to Bolshevik policy and the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising, before they left Russia. Both wrote accounts of their experiences in Russia, criticizing the amount of control the Bolsheviks exercised. For them, [[Bakunin]]'s predictions about the consequences of Marxist rule&lt;ref name=&quot;bakuninmarx&quot;&gt;&quot;You can see quite well that behind all the democratic and socialistic phrases and promises in Marx’s program for the State lies all that constitutes the true despotic and brutal nature of all states, regardless of their form of government.&quot; Bakunin, Mikhail (1872) &quot;[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bakunin/works/1872/karl-marx.htm On the International Workingmen's Association and Karl Marx]&quot; in ''Bakunin on Anarchy'', translated and edited by Sam Dolgoff, 1971&lt;/ref&gt; had proved all too true.

The victory of the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution and the resulting Russian Civil War did serious damage to anarchist movements internationally. Many workers and activists saw Bolshevik success as setting an example; [[Communist party|Communist parties]] grew at the expense of anarchism and other socialist movements. In France and the US, for example, certain members of the major syndicalist movements of the [[Confédération générale du travail|CGT]] and [[IWW]] left the organizations and joined the [[Comintern|Communist International]].

In Paris, the [[Dielo Truda]] group of Russian anarchist exiles, which included [[Nestor Makhno]], concluded that anarchists needed to develop new forms of organisation in response to the structures of Bolshevism. Their 1926 manifesto, called the [[Platformism|Organizational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft)]],&lt;ref name=Platformtext&gt;{{cite book | last = Dielo Trouda group | authorlink = Dielo Trouda | title = Organizational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft) | origyear = 1926 | url = http://www.anarkism.net/newswire.php?story_id=1000 | accessdate = 2006-10-24 | year = 2006 | publisher = FdCA | location = Italy}}&lt;/ref&gt; was supported by some communist anarchists, though opposed by many others. Platformist groups today include the [[Workers Solidarity Movement]] in Ireland and the [[North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists]] of North America.

===The fight against fascism===
{{main|Anti-fascism}}{{See also|Anarchism in Italy|Anarchism in France|Anarchism in Spain}}
[[Image:CNT-armoured-car-factory.jpg|thumb|Members of the anarchist [[CNT]] construct [[armoured car]]s in one a [[collectivisation|collectivised]] factory to fight against the [[fascist]]s in [[Spain]], 1936.]]
In the 1920s and 1930s, the rise of [[fascism]] in Europe transformed anarchism's conflict with the state. Italy saw the first struggles between anarchists and fascists. [[Anarchism in Italy|Italian anarchists]] played a key role in the anti-fascist organisation ''[[Arditi del Popolo]]'', which was strongest in areas with anarchist traditions and marked up numerous successful victories, including repelling [[Blackshirts]] in the anarchist stronghold of Parma in August 1922.&lt;ref&gt;Holbrow, Marnie, [http://www.socialistreview.org.uk/article.php?articlenumber=8205 &quot;Daring but Divided&quot;] (''Socialist Review'' November 2002)&lt;/ref&gt; In France, where the [[far-right leagues]] came close to insurrection in the [[February 1934 riots]], anarchists divided over a '[[United Front]]' policy.&lt;ref&gt;Berry, David. &quot;Fascism or Revolution&quot;. ''Le Libertaire''. August 1936)&lt;/ref&gt; 

In Spain, the [[CNT]] initially refused to join a popular front electoral alliance and abstention by CNT supporters led to a right wing election victory. But in 1936, the CNT changed its policy and anarchist votes helped bring the popular front back to power. Months later, the ruling class responded with an attempted coup, and the [[Spanish Civil War]] (1936-1939) was underway. In response to the army rebellion, an [[Anarchism in Spain|anarchist-inspired]] movement of peasants and workers, supported by armed militias, took control of [[Barcelona]] and of large areas of rural Spain where they [[collectivization|collectivized]] the land. But even before the eventual fascist victory in 1939, the anarchists were losing ground in a bitter struggle with the [[Stalinists]], who controlled the distribution of military aid to the Republican cause from [[Soviet Russia]]. The CNT leadership often appeared confused and divided, with some members controversially entering the government.{{Or|date=December 2007}} According to [[George Orwell]] and other foreign observers, Stalinist-led troops suppressed the collectives and persecuted both [[POUM|dissident Marxists]] and anarchists.

Since the late 1970s anarchists have been involved in opposing the rise of [[neo-fascism|neo-fascist]] groups.{{Specify|date=December 2007}} In Germany and the [[United Kingdom]] anarchists worked within [[militant]] [[anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] groups alongside members of the [[Marxist]] left.

==Internal issues and debates==
{{main|Issues in anarchism}}
[[Image:Uroligheder3.jpg|thumb|right|The efficacy and legitimacy of using [[violence]] to political ends [[Anarchism and violence|have been controversial issues amongst anarchists]].]]
&lt;!-- In the interest of restricting article length, please limit this section to two or three short paragraphs and add any substantial information to the main Issues in anarchism article. Thank you. --&gt;
Anarchism is a philosophy which embodies many diverse and heterogeneous attitudes, tendencies and schools of thought; as such, disagreement over questions of values, ideology and tactics is common. The compatibility of [[anarchism and capitalism|capitalism]] (which anarchists usually reject, according to the ''[[Oxford Companion to Philosophy]]''&lt;ref name=oxcom/&gt;), [[anarchism and nationalism|nationalism]] and [[anarchism and religion|religion]] with anarchism is widely disputed. Similarly, anarchism enjoys a complex relationship with ideologies such as [[Anarchism and Marxism|Marxism]], [[Issues in anarchism#Communism|communism]] and [[Anarchism and anarcho-capitalism|anarcho-capitalism]]. Anarchists may be motivated by [[humanism]], [[Christian anarchism|divine authority]], [[ethical egoism|enlightened self-interest]] or any number of alternative ethical doctrines.

Phenomena such as [[civilization]], [[technology]] (e.g. within [[primitivism]] and [[insurrectionary anarchism]]), and [[Issues in anarchism#Participation in statist democracy|the democratic process]] may be sharply criticized within some anarchist tendencies and simultaneously lauded in others. Anarchist attitudes towards [[Issues in anarchism#Race|race]], [[Issues in anarchism#Gender|gender]] and [[Issues in anarchism#The environment|the environment]] have changed significantly since the modern origin of the philosophy in the eighteenth century.

On a tactical level, while [[propaganda of the deed]] was a tactic used by anarchists in the 19th century (e.g. the [[Nihilist movement]]), contemporary anarchists espouse alternative methods such as [[nonviolence]], [[counter-economics]] and [[Crypto-anarchism|anti-state cryptography]] to bring about an anarchist society. The diversity in anarchism has led to widely different use of identical terms among different anarchist traditions, which has led to many [[definitional concerns in anarchist theory]].

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
{{see also|Anarcho-capitalist literature}}
* ''Anarchism. A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas.'' [[Robert Graham]], editor.
**''Volume One: From Anarchy to Anarchism (300CE to 1939)'' Black Rose Books, Montréal and London 2005. ISBN 1-55164-250-6.
**''Volume Two:  The Anarchist Current (1939-2006)'' Black Rose Books, Montréal 2007. ISBN 9781551643113.
* ''Anarchism'', [[George Woodcock]] (Penguin Books, 1962) (For many years the classic introduction, until in part superseded by Harper's ''Anarchy: A Graphic Guide''{{or|date=January 2008}})
* ''Anarchy: A Graphic Guide'', [[Clifford Harper]] (Camden Press, 1987) (An excellent overview, updating Woodcock's classic, and beautifully illustrated throughout by Harper's woodcut-style artwork{{npov-inline|date=January 2008}})
* ''The Anarchist Reader'', George Woodcock (Ed.) (Fontana/Collins 1977) (An anthology of writings from anarchist thinkers and activists including [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon|Proudhon]], [[Peter Kropotkin|Kropotkin]], [[Mikhail Bakunin|Bakunin]], [[Murray Bookchin|Bookchin]], [[Emma Goldman|Goldman]], and many others.)
* ''[[The Dispossessed]]'', [[Ursula K. Le Guin]] (a 1974 [[science fiction]] novel that takes place on a planet with an anarchist society; winner of both the [[Hugo Award|Hugo]] and [[Nebula Award]]s for best novel.)

==External links==
{{external links}}
{{wiktionary}}
{{Wikisource category}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Anarchism|Anarchy-symbol.svg}}
=== General resources ===
*[http://www.anarchismtoday.org AnarchismToday.org] An anarchist community site, featuring articles, news, forums, videos, blogs, etc.
* [http://www.infoshop.org/ Infoshop.org] - one of the oldest and most popular anarchist news and information sites.
*{{sep entry|anarchism}}
* [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/ &quot;An Anarchist FAQ&quot;] at [[Infoshop.org]], written from a [[social anarchism|social anarchist]] perspective
* [http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan/anarfaq.htm Anarchist Theory FAQ] by [[Bryan Caplan]], written from a [[market anarchism|market anarchist]] perspective

=== Biographical and bibliographical ===
*[http://recollectionbooks.com/bleed/gallery/galleryindex.htm Daily Bleed's Anarchist Encyclopedia] - 1,700+ entries, with short bios, links &amp; dedicated pages.
* [http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/ Anarchy Archives] - information relating to famous anarchists. This includes many of their books and other publications.
* [http://www.theyliewedie.org/ressources/biblio/index-en.php Anarchist virtual library] 768 books, booklets and texts about anarchism.
* [http://zinelibrary.net &quot;Zinelibrary.net&quot;] anarchist zines to download, print and distribute

=== News ===
* [http://www.ainfos.ca/ A-infos] &quot;a multi-lingual news service by, for, and about anarchists&quot;
* [http://www.anarkismo.net Anarkismo.net] - Multilingual anarchist news site run by over a dozen [[platformism|platformist]] organisations on five continents
* [http://anarchiststrategy.blogspot.com/ Center For Strategic Anarchy] - news reports from an anarchist perspective
&lt;!-- Attention! The external link portion of this article regularly grows far beyond manageable size. Please only list an outside link if it applies to anarchism in general and is somewhat noteworthy. Links to lesser known sites or submovements will be routinely moved to the list page to keep this article free of clutter --&gt;
{{Ideologies}}

[[Category:Anarchism| ]]
[[Category:Political ideologies]]
[[Category:Political philosophies]]
[[Category:Social philosophy]]

{{Link FA|ar}}
{{link FA|id}}
[[ar:لاسلطوية]]
[[an:Anarquismo]]
[[ast:Anarquismu]]
[[zh-min-nan:Hui-thóng-tī-chú-gī]]
[[bg:Анархизъм]]
[[ca:Anarquisme]]
[[cs:Anarchismus]]
[[da:Anarkisme]]
[[pdc:Anarchism]]
[[de:Anarchismus]]
[[et:Anarhism]]
[[el:Αναρχισμός]]
[[es:Anarquismo]]
[[eo:Anarkiismo]]
[[eu:Anarkismo]]
[[fa:دولت‌زدائی]]
[[fo:Anarkisma]]
[[fr:Anarchisme]]
[[gl:Anarquismo]]
[[ko:아나키즘]]
[[id:Anarkisme]]
[[is:Stjórnleysisstefna]]
[[it:Anarchismo]]
[[he:אנרכיזם]]
[[jv:Anarkisme]]
[[ka:ანარქიზმი]]
[[lt:Anarchizmas]]
[[hu:Anarchizmus]]
[[mk:Анархизам]]
[[ms:Anarkisme]]
[[nl:Anarchisme]]
[[ja:アナキズム]]
[[no:Anarkisme]]
[[nn:Anarkisme]]
[[pl:Anarchizm]]
[[pt:Anarquismo]]
[[ro:Anarhism]]
[[ru:Анархизм]]
[[sco:Anarchism]]
[[simple:Anarchism]]
[[sk:Anarchizmus]]
[[sl:Anarhizem]]
[[sr:Анархизам]]
[[sh:Anarhizam]]
[[fi:Anarkismi]]
[[sv:Anarkism]]
[[th:ลัทธิอนาธิปไตย]]
[[tr:Anarşizm]]
[[uk:Анархізм]]
[[yi:אנארכיזם]]
[[diq:Anarşizm]]
[[zh:无政府主义]]</text>
    </revision>
  </page>
  <page>
    <title>Altruism</title>
    <id>336</id>
    <revision>
      <id>182419500</id>
      <timestamp>2008-01-06T00:29:00Z</timestamp>
      <contributor>
        <username>SmackBot</username>
        <id>433328</id>
      </contributor>
      <minor />
      <comment>Date/fix the maintenance tags or gen fixes  using [[Project:AutoWikiBrowser|AWB]]</comment>
      <text xml:space="preserve">{{Citations missing|article|date=January 2008}}
{{for|the ethical doctrine|Altruism (ethics)}}
'''Altruism''' is selfless concern for the [[Quality of life|welfare]] of others. It is a traditional [[virtue]] in many cultures, and central to many religious traditions. In English, this idea was often described as the [[Ethic of reciprocity|Golden rule of ethics]]. Some newer philosophies such as [[ethical egoism|egoism]] have criticized the concept, with writers arguing that there is no moral obligation to help others.

Altruism can be distinguished from a feeling of [[loyalty]] and [[duty]]. Altruism focuses on a motivation to help others or a want to do good without reward, while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards a specific individual (for example, [[God]], a [[monarch|king]]), a specific organization (for example, a [[government]]), or an abstract concept (for example, [[patriotism]] etc). Some individuals may feel both altruism and duty, while others may not. Pure altruism is giving without regard to reward or the benefits of recognition. 

The concept has a long history in [[philosophical]] and [[ethical]] thought, and has more recently become a topic for [[psychologists]] (especially [[evolutionary psychology]] researchers), [[sociologists]], [[evolutionary biologists]], and [[ethology|ethologists]]. While ideas about altruism from one field can have an impact on the other fields, the different methods and focuses of these fields lead to different perspectives on altruism.

==Altruism in ethics==
{{main|Altruism (ethics)}}
The word &quot;altruism&quot; (derived from [[French language|French]] ''autre'' &quot;other&quot;, in its turn derived from [[Latin]] ''alter'' &quot;other&quot;) was coined by [[Auguste Comte]], the French founder of [[positivism]], in order to describe the ethical doctrine he supported. He believed that individuals had a moral obligation to serve the interest of others or the &quot;greater good&quot; of humanity. Comte says, in his Catechisme Positiviste, that ''&quot;[the] social point of view cannot tolerate the notion of rights, for such notion rests on individualism. We are born under a load of obligations of every kind, to our predecessors, to our successors, to our contemporaries. After our birth these obligations increase or accumulate, for it is some time before we can return any service.... This [&quot;to live for others&quot;], the definitive formula of human morality, gives a direct sanction exclusively to our instincts of benevolence, the common source of happiness and duty. [Man must serve] Humanity, who we are entirely.&quot;'' As the name of the ethical doctrine is &quot;altruism,&quot; doing what the ethical doctrine prescribes has also come to be referred to by the term &quot;altruism&quot; &amp;mdash; serving others through placing their interests above one's own.

Philosophers who support [[ethical egoism|egoism]] have argued that altruism is demeaning to the individual and that no moral obligation to help others actually exists. [[Nietzsche]] asserts that altruism is predicated on the assumption that others are more important than one's self and that such a position is degrading and demeaning. He also claims that it was very uncommon for people in Europe to consider the sacrifice of one's own interests for others as virtuous until after the advent of Christianity.

Advocates of altruism as an ethical doctrine maintain that one ought to act, or refrain from acting, so that benefit or [[good (economics)|good]] is bestowed on other people, if necessary to the exclusion of one's own interests (Note that refraining from murdering someone, for example, is not altruism since he is not receiving a benefit or being helped, as he already has his life; this would amount to the same thing as ignoring someone).

==Altruism in ethology and evolutionary biology==
In the science of [[ethology]] (the study of behavior), and more generally in the study of [[social evolution]], altruism refers to behavior by an individual that increases the [[fitness (biology)|fitness]] of another individual while decreasing the fitness of the actor.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Recent developments in [[game theory]] (look into [[ultimatum game]]) have provided some explanations for apparent altruism, as have traditional evolutionary analyses. Among the proposed mechanisms are:

* Behavioural manipulation (for example, by certain [[parasites]] that can alter the behavior of the host)
* [[Bounded rationality]] (for example, [[Herbert Simon]])
* [[Conscience]]
* [[Kin selection]] including [[eusociality]] (see also &quot;[[selfish gene]]&quot;)
* [[Meme]]s (by influencing behavior to favour their own spread, for example, [[religion]])
* [[Reciprocal altruism]], mutual aid
* [[Sexual selection]], in particular, the [[Handicap principle]]
* [[Reciprocity (social psychology)]]
** Indirect reciprocity (for example, [[reputation]])
** Strong reciprocity&lt;ref&gt;{{Cite journal
 | author = [[Herbert Gintis]]
 | title = Strong Reciprocity and Human Sociality
 | journal = [[Journal of Theoretical Biology]]
 | volume = 206
 | issue = 2
 | month = September
 | year = 2000
 | pages = 169&amp;ndash;179
 | doi = 10.1006/jtbi.2000.2111
}}&lt;/ref&gt;
* Pseudo-reciprocity

The study of altruism was the initial impetus behind [[George R. Price]]'s development of the [[Price equation]] which is a mathematical equation used to study genetic evolution. An interesting example of altruism is found in the cellular [[slime mould]]s, such as ''[[Dictyostelid|Dictyostelium]] mucoroides''. These protists live as individual [[amoebae]] until starved, at which point they aggregate and form a multicellular fruiting body in which some cells sacrifice themselves to promote the survival of other cells in the fruiting body. Social behavior and altruism share many similarities to the interactions between the many parts (cells, genes) of an organism, but are distinguished by the ability of each individual to reproduce indefinitely without an absolute requirement for its neighbors.

Jorge Moll and Jordan Grafman, neuroscientists at the [[National Institutes of Health]] and LABS-D'Or Hospital Network (J.M.) provided the first evidence for the neural bases of altruistic giving in normal healthy volunteers, using [[functional magnetic resonance imaging]]. In their research, published in the [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] USA in October, 2006&lt;ref&gt;Human fronto–mesolimbic networks guide decisions about charitable donation, PNAS 2006:103(42);15623-15628)&lt;/ref&gt;, they showed that both pure monetary rewards and charitable donations activated the [[Mesolimbic pathway|mesolimbic]] reward pathway, a primitive part of the brain that usually lights up in response to food and sex. However, when volunteers generously placed their interests of others before their own by making charitable donations, another brain circuit was selectively activated: the subgenual cortex/septal region. These structures are intimately related to social attachment and bonding in other species. Altruism, the experiment suggested, was not a superior moral faculty that suppresses basic selfish urges but rather was basic to the brain, hard-wired and pleasurable.&lt;ref name=&quot;brain&quot;&gt;{{cite news
|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/27/AR2007052701056.html
|title=If It Feels Good to Be Good, It Might Be Only Natural
|publisher=Washington Post
|date=May 2007
}}&lt;/ref&gt;

A new study by [[Samuel Bowles (economist)|Samuel Bowles]] at the [[Santa Fe Institute]] in [[New Mexico]], US, is seen by some as breathing new life into the model of group selection for Altruism, known as &quot;Survival of the nicest&quot;. Bowles conducted a genetic analysis of contemporary foraging groups, including [[Australian aboriginals]], native [[Siberian]] [[Inuit]] populations and indigenous tribal groups in Africa. It was found that [[hunter-gatherer]] bands of up to 30 individuals were considerably more closely related than was previously thought.  Under these conditions, thought to be similar to those of the middle and upper [[Paleolithic]], altruism towards other group-members would improve the overall fitness of the group. 

If an individual defended the group but was killed, any genes that the individual shared with the overall group would still be passed on.  Early customs such as food sharing or [[monogamy]] could have levelled out the “cost” of altruistic behaviour, in the same way that income taxes redistribute income in society. He assembled genetic, climactic, archaeological, ethnographic and experimental data to examine the cost-benefit relationship of human cooperation in ancient populations.  In his model, members of a group bearing genes for altruistic behaviour pay a &quot;tax&quot; by limiting their reproductive opportunities to benefit from sharing food and information, thereby increasing the average fitness of the group as well as their inter-relatedness. Bands of altruistic humans would then act together to gain resources from other groups at this challenging time in history.&lt;ref&gt;Fisher, Richard (07 December 2006) &quot;Why altruism paid off for our ancestors&quot; (NewScientist.com news service) [http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10750.html]&lt;/ref&gt;.

A 2007 study conducted at the [[Hebrew University of Jerusalem]] suggested that altruism may be determined genetically.  In a psychological experiment, each participant received the equivalent of $12, and might give any part of it to anonymous other participant.  People whose DNA contains specific [[alleles]] (variants) of a gene (AVPR1a), gave more money than others. &lt;ref&gt;{{cite news | title=AVPR1a And The Genetics Of Generosity | date=[[2007-12-06]] | url =http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/avpr1a_and_the_genetics_of_generosity | work =scientificblogging.com |  accessdate = 2008-01-03  }}&lt;/ref&gt;

==Altruism and the &quot;[[Ecological Self]]&quot;==

Norwegian Philosopher [[Arne Næss]], has suggested that the narrow concept of [[ego]]ic self implies that all acts of &quot;doing good&quot; are acts of altruism, whereas, through a larger concept of the [[self-actualisation|self-actualised]] &quot;ecological self&quot;, in which it is the interconnectedness within progressively larger wholes, ultimately incorporating the whole of life (see [[Gaia hypothesis]]), means that our self interest ultimately requires the flourishing and well-being of the whole of life itself. This concept, similar in some respects to the [[land ethic]] of [[Aldo Leopold]], sets the concept of Altruism within the widest possible boundary of moral concern &lt;ref&gt;Seed, John and Macy, Joanna (et al)(1987) &quot;Thinking Like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings&quot; (New Society Publications)&lt;/ref&gt;.

==Altruism in politics==
With regard to their political convictions, altruists may be divided in two broad groups: Those who believe altruism is a matter of personal choice (and therefore selfishness can and should be tolerated), and those who believe that altruism is a moral ideal which should be embraced, if possible, by all human beings.

A prominent example of the former branch of altruist political thought is [[Lysander Spooner]], who, in ''Natural Law'', writes: &quot;''Man, no doubt, owes many other moral duties to his fellow men; such as to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick, protect the defenceless, assist the weak, and enlighten the ignorant. But these are simply moral duties, of which each man must be his own judge, in each particular case, as to whether, and how, and how far, he can, or will, perform them.''&quot; Things such as a law that motorists pull over to let emergency vehicles pass may also be justified by appealing to the altruism ethic. Finally, radical altruists of this branch may take things further and advocate some form of [[collectivism]] or [[communalism]].

On a somewhat related note, altruism is often held &amp;mdash; even by non-altruists &amp;mdash; to be the kind of ethic that should guide the actions of politicians and other people in positions of power. Such people are usually expected to set their own interests aside and serve the populace. When they do not, they may be criticized as defaulting on what is believed to be an ethical obligation to place the interests of others above their own.

==Altruism in psychology and sociology==
If one performs an act beneficial to others with a view to gaining some personal benefit, then it isn't an altruistically motivated act. There are several different perspectives on how &quot;benefit&quot; (or &quot;interest&quot;) should be defined. A material gain (for example, money, a physical reward, etc.) is clearly a form of benefit, while others identify and include both material and immaterial gains (affection, respect, happiness, satisfaction etc.) as being philosophically identical benefits.

According to ''[[psychological egoism]]'', while people can exhibit altruistic ''behavior'', they cannot have altruistic ''motivations''. Psychological egoists would say that while they might very well spend their lives benefitting others with no material benefit (or a material net loss) to themselves, their most basic motive for doing so is always to further their own interests. For example, it would be alleged that the foundational motive behind a person acting this way is to advance their own psychological well-being (&quot;good feelings&quot;). Critics of this theory often reject it on the grounds that it's [[falsifiability|non-falsifiable]]; in other words, it is impossible to prove or disprove because immaterial gains such as a &quot;good feelings&quot; cannot be measured or proven to exist in all people performing altruistic acts. Psychological egoism has also been accused of using [[circular logic]]: &quot;If a person willingly performs an act, that means he derives personal enjoyment from it; therefore, people only perform acts that give them personal enjoyment&quot;. This particular statement is circular because its conclusion is identical to its hypothesis (it assumes that people only perform acts that give them personal enjoyment, and concludes that people only perform acts that give them personal enjoyment).

In common parlance, altruism usually means helping another person without expecting material reward from that or other persons, although it may well entail the &quot;internal&quot; benefit of a &quot;good feeling,&quot; sense of satisfaction, self-esteem, fulfillment of duty (whether imposed by a religion or ideology or simply one's conscience), or the like. In this way one need not speculate on the motives of the altruist in question.

Humans are not exclusively altruistic towards family members, previous co-operators or potential future allies, but can be altruistic towards people they don't know and will never meet. For example, some humans donate to international [[Charitable organization|charities]] and volunteer their time to help [[society]]'s less fortunate. It can however be argued that an individual would contribute to a charity to gain respect or stature within his/her own community.

It strains plausibility to claim that these altruistic deeds are done in the hope of a return favor. The game theory analysis of this 'just in case' strategy, where the principle would be 'always help everyone in case you need to pull in a favor in return', is a decidedly ''non-optimal'' strategy, where the net expenditure of effort is far greater than the net profit when it occasionally pays off. 

According to some, it is difficult to believe that these behaviors are solely explained as indirect selfish [[rationality]], be it conscious or sub-conscious. Mathematical formulations of [[kin selection]], along the lines of the [[prisoner's dilemma]], are helpful as far as they go; but what a [[game theory|game-theoretic]] explanation glosses over is the fact that altruistic behavior can be attributed to that apparently mysterious phenomenon, the [[conscience]]. One recent suggestion, proposed by the philosopher [[Daniel Dennett]], was initially developed when considering the problem of so-called 'free riders' in the [[tragedy of the commons]], a larger-scale version of the [[prisoner's dilemma]].

In [[game theory]] terms, a free rider is an [[agent (grammar)|agent]] who draws benefits from a co-operative society without contributing. In a one-to-one situation, free riding can easily be discouraged by a tit-for-tat strategy. But in a larger-scale society, where contributions and benefits are pooled and shared, they can be incredibly difficult to shake off. 

Imagine an elementary society of co-operative organisms. Co-operative agents interact with each other, each contributing resources and each drawing on the common good. Now imagine a [[rogue]] [[free rider]], an agent who draws a favor (&quot;you scratch my back&quot;) and later refuses to return it. The problem is that free riding is always going to be beneficial to individuals at cost to society. How can well-behaved co-operative agents avoid being cheated? Over many generations, one obvious solution is for co-operators to evolve the ability to spot potential free riders in advance and refuse to enter into [[Reciprocity (social psychology)|reciprocal]] arrangements with them. Then, the canonical free rider response is to evolve a more convincing [[disguise]], fooling co-operators into co-operating after all. This can lead to an evolutionary [[arms race]]s, with ever-more-sophisticated disguises and ever-more-sophisticated detectors.

In this evolutionary arms race, how best might one convince comrades that one ''really is'' a genuine co-operator, not a free rider in disguise? One answer is by ''actually making oneself'' a genuine co-operator, by erecting [[psychological barriers]] to breaking promises, and by advertising this fact to everyone else. In other words, a good solution is for organisms to evolve things that everyone knows will force them to be co-operators - and to make it obvious that they've evolved these things. So evolution will produce organisms who are sincerely moral and who wear their hearts on their sleeves; in short, evolution will give rise to the phenomenon of conscience. 

This theory, combined with ideas of [[kin selection]] and the one-to-one sharing of benefits, may explain how a blind process can produce a genuinely non-cynical form of altruism that gives rise to the human conscience.

Critics of such technical game theory analysis point out that it appears to forget that human beings are rational and emotional. To presume an analysis of human behaviour without including human rationale or emotion is necessarily unrealistically narrow, and treats human beings as if they are mere machines, sometimes called [[Homo economicus]]. Another objection is that often people donate anonymously, so that it is impossible to determine if they really did the altruistic act.

Beginning with an understanding that rational human beings benefit from living in a benign universe, logically it follows that particular human beings may gain substantial emotional satisfaction from acts which they perceive to make the world a better place.

==Altruism and religion==
{{sect-stub}}
Most, if not all, of the world's [[religion]]s promote altruism as a very important moral value. [[Christianity]], [[Buddhism]] {{Fact|date=August 2007}} , and [[Sikhism]] place particular emphasis on altruistic morality, as noted above, but [[Judaism]], [[Islam]], [[Hinduism]] and many other religions also promote altruistic behavior. 
Altruism was central to the teachings of [[Jesus]] found in the [[Gospel]] especially in the [[Sermon on the Mount]] and the [[Sermon on the Plain]]. From biblical to medieval [[Christian traditions]], tensions between self-affirmation and other-regard were sometimes discussed under the heading of &quot;disinterested love,&quot; as in the [[Pauline#Religious|Pauline]] phrase &quot;love seeks not its own interests.&quot; In his book ''Indoctrination and Self-deception'', Roderick Hindery tries to shed light on these tensions by contrasting them with impostors of authentic self-affirmation and altruism, by analysis of other-regard within creative individuation of the self, and by contrasting love for the few with love for the many. If love, which confirms others in their freedom, shuns propagandas and masks, assurance of its presence is ultimately confirmed not by mere declarations from others, but by each person's experience and practice from within. As in practical arts, the presence and meaning of love become validated and grasped not by words and reflections alone, but in the doing.

Though it might seem obvious that altruism is central to the teachings of Jesus, one important and influential strand of Christianity would qualify this. [[St Thomas Aquinas]] in the ''[[Summa Theologica]]'', I:II Quaestion 26, Article 4 states that we should love ourselves more than our neighbour. His interpretation of the Pauline phrase is that we should seek the common good more than the private good but this is because the common good is a more desirable good for the individual. 'You should love your neighbour as yourself' from [[Leviticus]] 19 and Matthew 22 is interpreted by St Thomas as meaning that love for ourself is the exemplar of love for others. He does think though, that we should love God more than ourselves and our neighbour, taken as an entirety, more than our bodily life, since the ultimate purpose of love of our neighbour is to share in eternal beatitude, a more desirable thing than bodily well being. Comte was probably opposing this Thomistic doctrine, now part of mainstream Catholicism, in coining the word Altruism, as stated above.

'''Sikhism'''

Altruism is essential to the Sikh religion. In the late 1600's, [[Guru Gobind Singh]] Ji (the tenth [[guru]] in Sikhism), was in war with the [[Moghul]] rulers to protect the people of different faiths, when a fellow Sikh, [[Bhai Kanhaiya]], attended the troops of the enemy. He gave water to the injured, which revived their strength. Some of them began to fight again and seemed to cause problems to the Sikh warriors. Sikh soldiers brought Bhai Kanhaiya before the Guru, and complained of his action that they considered counterproductive to their hard work in the battle filed.
&quot;What were you doing, and why?&quot; asked the Guru. &quot;I was giving water to the wounded because I saw your face in them,&quot; replied Bhai Kanhaiya. 

The Guru responded, &quot;Then you should also give them ointment to heal their wounds. You were practicing what you were coached in the house of the Guru.&quot; In love of altruism, is there any room for hatred or duality?

It was under the tutelage of the Guru that Bhai Kanhaiya subsequently founded a volunteer corps for altruism. This volunteer corps till to date is engaged in doing good to others and trains new volunteering recruits for doing the same.

It is claimed by some Sikhs that Bhai Kanhaiya's successors who continued the tradition of serving others and who committed their lives to service of the sick and wounded lived longer than usual life spans.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} Bhai Kanhaiya’s successors were not related genetically in order to account for their exceptional longevity. Rather they were volunteers from the Sikh organizations who committed their lives to serve the sick; first they did it themselves and then they recruited others to do the same. All of them defied the recorded longevity norms of the time for a long span of over three centuries.{{Fact|date=January 2008}}

Longevity is determined by many factors, freedom from disease and stress are two such factors. The altruists were certainly observed to live calm and tranquil lives. For Sikhs, altruism was made an act of faith by their founders.
 &lt;!-- This section should continue by quoting altruism-related verses from the holy books of the aforementioned religions --&gt;

==Altruism and love (the problem of love)==
In philosophy, the '''problem of love''' questions whether the desire to do good for another is based solely on the outward ability to [[love]] another person because the lover sees something (or someone) worth loving, or if a little [[self-interest]] is always present in the desire to do good for another.

The problem arises from an analysis of the [[free will|human will]] and is often debated among [[Thomistic philosophy|Thomistic philosophers]]. The problem centers on [[Thomas Aquinas]]'s understanding that human expressions of love are always based partly on love of self and similitude of being: “Even when a man loves in another what he loves not in himself, there is a certain likeness of proportion: because as the latter is to that which is loved in him, so is the former to that which he loves in himself.” See Thomas Aquinas, [[Summa Theologica]] (New York: Benziger Bros., 1948), I-II, Q. 27, Art. 3, rep. obj. 2.)

The French philosopher Pierre Rousselot (1878-1915) locates the philosophical problem in terms of a pure &quot;ecstatic&quot; or totally selfless love versus an egotistic, more self-interested love, beginning his examination from Aristotle's text ([[Nicomachean Ethics]], Book 9): ''&quot;Amicabilia quae sunt ad alterum vererunt amicabilibus quae sunt ad se ipsum&quot;'' [The friendly feelings that we bear for another have arisen from the friendly feelings that we bear for ourselves]. See Pierre Rousselot, The Problem of Love in the Middle Ages: A Historical Contribution. Trans. Alan Vincelette (Milwaukee: Marquette Univ. Press, 2001).

==See also==
{| 
| 
* [[Altruism (ethics)]]
* [[Altruism in animals]]
* [[Altruria]]
* [[Charity (practice)]]
* [[Charitable organization]]
* [[Egoism]]
* [[Empathy]]
* [[Gene-centered view of evolution]]
| 
* [[Justice (economics)]]
* [[Kin selection]]
* [[Misanthropy]]
* [[mutual aid]]
* [[Philanthropy]]
* [[Psychology]]
* [[Random acts of kindness]]
* [[Reciprocal altruism]]
* [[Selfishness]]
* [[Solidarity (sociology)]]
* [[Tit for tat]]
|}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
&lt;div class=&quot;references-small&quot; style=&quot;-moz-column-count: 2; column-count: 2;&quot;&gt;
*Oord, Thomas Jay (2007). ''The Altruism Reader: Selections from Writings on Love, Religion, and Science (Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press).
*Batson, C.D. (1991). ''The altruism question''. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 
*Fehr, E. &amp; Fischbacher, U. ([[23 October]] [[2003]]). The nature of human altruism. In ''Nature, 425'', 785 &amp;ndash; 791.
*[[August Comte]], ''Catechisme positiviste'' (1852) or ''Catechism of Positivism'', tr. R. Congreve, (London: Kegan Paul, 1891)
* [[Thomas Jay Oord]], Science of Love (Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press, 2004).
*[[Nietzsche, Friedrich]], ''[[Beyond Good and Evil]]''
*[[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]], ''The Philosophy of Poverty'' (1847)
*[[Lysander Spooner]], ''Natural Law''
*[[Matt Ridley]], ''[[The Origins of Virtue]]''
*Oliner, Samuel P. and Pearl M. Towards a Caring Society: Ideas into Action. West Port, CT: Praeger, 1995.
* ''[[The Evolution of Cooperation]]'', [[Robert Axelrod]], Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-02121-2
*''[[The Selfish Gene]]'', [[Richard Dawkins]] (1990), second edition -- includes two chapters about the evolution of cooperation, ISBN 0-19-286092-5
*[[Robert Wright (journalist)|Robert Wright]], ''The moral animal'', Vintage, 1995, ISBN 0-679-76399-6.
*Madsen, E.A., Tunney, R., Fieldman, G., [[Henry Plotkin|Plotkin, H.C.]], [[Robin Dunbar|Dunbar, R.I.M.]], Richardson, J.M., &amp; McFarland, D. (2006) Kinship and altruism: A cross-cultural experimental study. ''British Journal of Psychology''
*Wedekind, C. and Milinski, M. Human Cooperation in the simultaneous and the alternating Prisoner's Dilemma: Pavlov versus Generous Tit-for-tat. ''Evolution'', Vol. 93, pp. 2686-2689, April 1996.
&lt;/div&gt;

==External links==
*Philosophy and Religion
**[http://yaleeconomicreview.com/issues/spring2006/altruism.php &quot;Altruism and Utility&quot;] in ''[[Yale Economic Review]]''
**[http://them.polylog.org/3/fcs-en.htm Selflessness: Toward a Buddhist Vision of Social Justice] by [[Sungtaek Cho]]
**[http://www.empathy.se/Empathyeng/index.htm Organizes knowledge about empathy/altruism across disciplines] 

*The Sciences
**[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/altruism-biological/ Biological Altruism] at the [[Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]
**[http://www.humboldt.edu/~altruism/home.html The Altruistic Personality and Prosocial Behavior Institute] at [[Humboldt State University]]
**{{Cite journal
 | author = Dharol Tankersley, C. Jill Stowe &amp; Scott A. Huettel
 | title = Altruism is associated with an increased neural response to agency
 | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]]
 | volume = 10
 | pages = 150&amp;ndash;151
 | year = [[2007]]
 |date=21 January 2007
 | doi = 10.1038/nn1833
 | url = http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v10/n2/abs/nn1833.html
}}
** [http://peacecenter.berkeley.edu/greatergood/ Greater Good magazine examines the roots of Altruism] at the [[University of California, Berkeley]]
** [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20061123.shtml BBC Radio 4's In Our Time programme on Altruism] (requires [[RealAudio]])

{{Philosophy navigation}}
{{Charity}}

[[Category:Evolution by phenotype|Altruism]]
[[Category:philanthropy]]
[[Category:Social philosophy]]
[[Category:Social psychology]]
[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Virtues]]
[[Category:Motivation]]

[[bg:Алтруизъм]]
[[cs:Altruismus]]
[[da:Altruisme]]
[[de:Altruismus]]
[[et:Altruism]]
[[es:Altruismo]]
[[fr:Altruisme]]
[[hr:Altruizam]]
[[it:Altruismo]]
[[he:זולתנות]]
[[lt:Altruizmas]]
[[ms:Altruisme]]
[[nl:Altruïsme]]
[[ja:奉仕]]
[[no:Altruisme]]
[[nn:Altruisme]]
[[pl:Altruizm]]
[[pt:Altruísmo]]
[[ru:Альтруизм]]
[[sk:Altruizmus]]
[[sl:Altruizem]]
[[sr:Алтруизам]]
[[fi:Altruismi]]
[[sv:Altruism]]
[[tr:Diğerkâmlık]]
[[uk:Альтруїзм]]
[[zh:利他主义]]</text>
    </revision>
  </page>
  <page>
    <title>Ayn Rand</title>
    <id>339</id>
    <revision>
      <id>182163530</id>
      <timestamp>2008-01-04T20:06:06Z</timestamp>
      <contributor>
        <username>DAGwyn</username>
        <id>1987009</id>
      </contributor>
      <comment>Çetin doesn't belong in this particular list.  He was previously added to the &quot;influenced&quot; list later in the article, which is the proper place for him.</comment>
      <text xml:space="preserve">{{Infobox Writer
| name        = Ayn Rand
| image       = Ayn_Rand1.jpg
| imagesize   = 300px
| caption     = 
| birth_date  = {{birth date|1905|2|2|}}
| birth_place = [[St. Petersburg]], [[Russia]]
| death_date  = {{death date and age|1982|3|6|1905|2|2}}
| death_place = [[New York City]], [[United States|U.S.A.]]
| occupation  = [[novelist]], [[philosopher]], [[playwright]], [[screenwriter]] 
| magnum_opus = ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''
| influences  = [[Aristotle]], [[John Locke]], [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], [[Victor Hugo]],  [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]],  [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]], [[Ludwig von Mises]], [[Isabel Paterson]]
| influenced  = [[James Clavell]], [[Henry Hazlitt]], [[John Hospers]], [[Harry Binswanger]], [[Nathaniel Branden]], [[Barbara Branden]], [[Allan Gotthelf]], [[Leonard Peikoff]], [[George Reisman]], [[John Ridpath]], [[Tara Smith (philosopher)|Tara Smith]], [[Alan Greenspan]], [[Terry Goodkind]], [[Anton LaVey]]}}
'''Ayn Rand''' ({{IPAEng|ˈaɪn ˈrænd}}, {{OldStyleDate|February 2|1905|January 20}} &amp;ndash; [[March 6]], [[1982]]), born '''Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum''' ({{lang-ru|Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум}}), was a [[Russia]]n-born [[United States|American]] [[novelist]] and [[philosopher]].&lt;ref&gt;One source notes: &quot;Perhaps because she so eschewed academic philosophy, and because her works are rightly considered to be works of literature, Objectivist philosophy is regularly omitted from academic philosophy. Yet throughout literary academia, Ayn Rand is considered a philosopher. Her works merit consideration as works of philosophy in their own right.&quot; (Jenny Heyl, 1995, as cited in {{cite book|title=Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand|editor=Mimi R Gladstein, Chris Matthew Sciabarra(eds)|id=ISBN 0-271-01831-3|publisher=Penn State Press|year=1999}}, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0271018313&amp;id=bei61AcYlT0C&amp;pg=PA17&amp;lpg=PA17&amp;sig=FxQ177GbCkq1rn4hiipdSIjjGeE p. 17])&lt;/ref&gt; She is widely known for her best-selling novels ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' and ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'', and for developing a philosophical system she called [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]].

She was an uncompromising advocate of rational [[individualism]] and [[laissez-faire]] [[capitalism]], and vociferously opposed [[socialism]], [[altruism]], and other contemporary philosophical trends. Her influential and often controversial ideas have attracted both enthusiastic admirers and scathing denunciation.

==Introduction==
{{Objectivism}}
Rand's writing (both fiction and non-fiction) emphasizes the philosophic concepts of [[objective reality]] in [[metaphysics]], [[reason]] in [[epistemology]], and [[rational egoism]] in ethics. In [[politics]] she was a proponent of [[laissez-faire]] capitalism and a staunch defender of [[individual rights]], believing that the sole function of a proper government is protection of individual rights (including [[property right]]s).  

She believed that individuals must choose their values and actions solely by reason, and that &quot;Man — every man — is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others.&quot; According to Rand, the individual &quot;must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite book | title = The Voice of Reason | first = Ayn | last = Rand | publisher = Dutton Plume (1989)}} &quot;Introducing Objectivism&quot; p. ''3''. This article originally appeared in the ''Los Angeles Times'' on June 17, 1962.&lt;/ref&gt;

Rand decried the initiation of force and fraud, and held that government action should consist only in protecting citizens from criminal aggression (via the police) and foreign aggression (via the military) and in maintaining a system of courts to decide guilt or innocence for objectively defined crimes and to resolve disputes. Her politics are generally described as [[minarchism|minarchist]] and [[libertarian]], though she did not use the first term and disavowed any connection to the second.&lt;ref&gt; {{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_campus_libertarians|title=&quot;Ayn Rand's Q&amp;A on Libertarians.&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-22}} at the [[Ayn Rand Institute]]. Rand stated in 1980, &quot;I've read nothing by a Libertarian...that wasn't my ideas badly mishandled — i.e., had the teeth pulled out of them — with no credit given.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt;

Rand, a self-described hero-worshiper, stated in her book ''[[The Romantic Manifesto]]'' that the goal of her writing was &quot;the projection of an ideal man.&quot; In reference to her philosophy, [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]], she said: &quot;My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.&quot; (Appendix to ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'')

==Early life==
===Childhood and education===
Rand was born in [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russia]], and was the eldest of three daughters (Alisa, Natasha, and Nora)&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.asenseoflife.com/synopsis.html|title=''A Sense of Life''|accessdate=2006-03-22}} website of the documentary film about Rand's life.&lt;/ref&gt; of Zinovy Zacharovich Rosenbaum and Anna Borisovna Rosenbaum, [[agnostic]] and largely non-observant ethnic [[Jew]]s.  Her father was a [[chemist]] and a successful pharmaceutical entrepreneur who earned the privilege of living outside the [[Jewish Pale of Settlement|Pale]].&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/rad/PubRadReviews/fc1.html|title=&quot;Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical - Published Reviews.&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-23}}&lt;/ref&gt; From an early age, Alisa displayed an interest in literature and film. 

Her mother taught her French and subscribed to a magazine featuring stories for boys, where Rand found her first childhood hero: Cyrus Paltons, an Indian army officer in a [[Rudyard Kipling]]-style story by [[Maurice Champagne]], called &quot;The Mysterious Valley&quot;.&lt;ref name=&quot;Chronology&quot;&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;Ayn Rand Chronology&quot;|url=http://www.objectivistcenter.org/ct-1671-AynRandChronology.aspx|accessdate=2007-06-21}}&lt;/ref&gt; Throughout her youth, she read the novels of [[Sir Walter Scott]], [[Alexandre Dumas, père]] and other Romantic writers, and expressed an interest in the [[Romanticism|Romantic movement]] as a whole. She discovered [[Victor Hugo]] at the age of thirteen, and later called him the &quot;greatest novelist in world literature.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite book | title = Ninety-Three | first = Victor | last = Hugo | publisher = NBI Press (1968)}} Translated by Lowell Bair, with an introduction by Ayn Rand; pp. ''vii, xv''.&lt;/ref&gt; Rand wrote the ideal educational curriculum would be &quot;[[Aristotle]] in philosophy, [[Ludwig von Mises|von Mises]] in economics, [[Montessori]] in education, [[Victor Hugo|Hugo]] in literature.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Long, Roderick: {{cite web|url=http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1738|title=&quot;Ayn Rand's Contribution to the Cause of Freedom&quot;|date=[[2006-03-24]]}}&lt;/ref&gt; 

[[Image:Twelvecollegia.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Ayn Rand studied history and philosophy at [[Saint Petersburg State University|St. Petersburg University]] .]]Rand was twelve at the time of the [[Russian revolution of 1917]], and her family life was disrupted by the rise of the [[Bolshevik]] party. Her father's pharmacy was confiscated by the Soviets, and the family fled to [[Crimea]] to recover financially. When Crimea fell to the Bolsheviks in 1921, Rand burned her diary, which contained vitriolic anti-Soviet writings.&lt;ref name=&quot;Chronology&quot;/&gt; Rand then returned to St. Petersburg to attend the [[Saint Petersburg State University|University of Petrograd]],&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/r/rand.htm|title=&quot;Ayn Rand&quot;|date=[[2006-03-22]]}} at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy&lt;/ref&gt; where she studied history and philosophy.&lt;ref&gt;[http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/randt2.htm Chris Matthew Sciabarra, &quot;The Rand Transcript&quot;, ''The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies'' vol. 1, iss. 1 (1999): 1-26]&lt;/ref&gt; Here she discovered the literary works of [[Edmond Rostand]], [[Friedrich Schiller]], and [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]]. She admired Rostand for his richly romantic imagination and Schiller for his grand, heroic scale. She admired Dostoevsky for his sense of drama and his intense moral judgments, but was deeply against his philosophy and his sense of life.&lt;ref&gt; Roger Donway, {{cite web|url=http://www.objectivistcenter.org/ct-104-Dostoevsky_Nietzsche_Ayn_Rands_Moral_Triad.aspx|title=&quot;Dostoevsky, Nietzsche, and Ayn Rand's Moral Triad.&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-23}} Donway writes that Rand's objectivism &quot;brought full circle the three-way argument that Chernyshevsky and Pisarev; the Underground Man and Nietzsche; and Dostoevsky the Christian philosopher conducted in Russia after 1860.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; She completed a three-year program in the department of Social Pedagogy that included history, philology and law, and received Certificate of Graduation (Diploma No. 1552) on [[13 October]] [[1924]].&lt;ref&gt;Sciabarra, Chris Matthew. {{cite web|title=&quot;The Rand Transcript.&quot;|url=http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/randt2.htm|
accessdate=2006-03-23}}&lt;/ref&gt; She also encountered the philosophical ideas of [[Nietzsche]], and loved his exaltation of the heroic and independent individual who embraced egoism and rejected altruism in ''[[Thus Spake Zarathustra]],'' but later rejected other aspects of his philosophy when she discovered more of his writings.

Rand continued to write short stories and screenplays. She entered the State Institute for Cinema Arts in 1924 to study screenwriting; in late 1925, however, she was granted a [[Visa (document)|visa]] to visit American relatives.

===Immigration and marriage===
In February 1926, she arrived in the [[United States]] at the age of 21, entering by ship through [[New York City]], which would ultimately become her home. She was profoundly moved by the [[Buildings and architecture of New York City|city's skyline]], later describing it in one of her novels, ''The Fountainhead'': &quot;I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline, the sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Miller, Eric {{cite web|url=http://www.newcolonist.com/aynrand.html|title=&quot;City of Life: Ayn Rand's New York.&quot;|date=[[2006-03-23]]}}&lt;/ref&gt;

After a brief stay with her relatives in [[Chicago]], she resolved never to return to the [[Soviet Union]], and set out for [[Hollywood]] to become a [[screenwriter]]. Already using ''Rand'' as a [[Cyrillic]] [[contraction (grammar)|contraction]]&lt;ref name=&quot;name-ari&quot;/&gt; of her surname, she then adopted the name ''Ayn'', of disputed origin.&lt;ref name=&quot;name-ari&quot;&gt;Possibly the contraction of the the last three letters of her surname in handwritten Cyrillic which strongly resemble the three Roman letters a.y.n.
ARI Biographical researcher Drs.  Gotthelf and Berliner note that while still in Russia, Anna used the name &quot;Rand&quot;, which is a Cyrillic contraction of Rosenbaum. They also note a hypothesis about a Finnish origin of Ayn.
{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_faq_index2#ar_q3b|title=&quot;What is the origin of &quot;Rand&quot;?&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-28}}
&lt;/ref&gt; &lt;!-- 
  This was in the talk-archive (#2), citing this article's early history (Aug 12 2005):
     A possibly more correct theory for her last name is that it has the same source as her first name, 
     from a favorite Finnish-Estonian, female, liberated author Aino Kallas and her typewriter (Sperry-Rand). Ayn is the Anglicized version of the Finnish, 
     additionally mythologic, Kalevala name Aino (the one and only) and Ayn is thus pronounced Ein (eye + n). 
  Then this (archive 6 I think): 
     She changed her name to protect her family still living in the Soviet Union from reprisals; she also saw it as a way to break with her past 
     and start a new life in the US. She did not consider this an act of bowing to &quot;societal pressure,&quot; as she stated that &quot;morality ends where a gun begins&quot; 
     and that &quot;one doesn't stop the juggernaut by throwing oneself in front of it.&quot; I don't know why Branden changed his name from Blumenthal; 
     if there's a citation that he did it in deference to &quot;societal pressure,&quot; than it belongs. Until then, I'm deleting it. LaszloWalrus 01:43, 25 March 2006 (UTC)
--&gt;

Initially, Rand struggled in [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] and took odd jobs to pay her basic living expenses. A chance face-to-face meeting with famed director [[Cecil B. DeMille]] led to a job as an [[extra (drama)|extra]] in his film ''[[The King of Kings]],'' and subsequent work as a script reader.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_biography|title=&quot;Ayn Rand Biography&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-23}} at AynRand.org &lt;/ref&gt; She also worked as the head of the costume department at [[RKO]] Studios.&lt;ref name=&quot;Leiendecker&quot;&gt; Leiendecker, Harold. {{cite web|url=http://www.eckerd.edu/aspec/writers/atlas_shrugged.htm|title=&quot;Atlas Shrugged.&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-30}}&lt;/ref&gt; While working on the film, she intentionally bumped into an aspiring young actor, [[Frank O'Connor (actor)|Frank O'Connor]], who caught her eye. The two married on [[April 15]], [[1929]], and remained married for fifty years, until O'Connor's death in 1979 at the age of 82. In 1931, Rand became a [[Naturalization|naturalized American citizen]]; she was fiercely proud of the United States, and in later years said to the graduating class at [[United States Military Academy|West Point]], &quot;I can say - not as a patriotic bromide, but with full knowledge of the necessary metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, political and aesthetic roots - that the United States of America is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the only moral country in the history of the world.&quot;&lt;ref&gt; Rand, Ayn. {{cite web|title=&quot;Philosophy: Who Needs It?&quot;|url=http://gos.sbc.edu/r/rand.html|accessdate=2006-03-31}} Address to the Graduating Class Of The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York - March 6, 1974. &lt;/ref&gt;

==Fiction==
Rand viewed herself equally as a novelist and a philosopher, as she said &quot;(I am) both, and for the same reason.&quot;{{Fact|date=December 2007}}  Rand's supporters note that she is part of a long tradition of authors who wrote philosophically rich fiction - including [[Dante]], [[John Milton]], [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]] and [[Albert Camus]], and that philosophers such as [[Jean-Paul Sartre]] presented their philosophies in both fictional and non-fictional forms.

In an article about Rand that appeared in [[The Economist]] in 1991, it is stated that &quot;Rand’s novels sell some 300,000 copies a year, exhorting readers to think big about themselves, build big and earn big. New editions of all her books carry postcards for readers who might be inclined to learn more about Objectivism, the author’s credo, a blending of free markets, reason and individualism.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;''Still Spouting,&quot; The Economist, November 25, 1999&lt;/ref&gt;

===Early works===
Her first literary success came with the sale of her screenplay ''Red Pawn'' in 1932 to [[Universal Studios]]: &quot;[[Josef Von Sternberg|Von Sternberg]] later considered it for [[Marlene Dietrich|Dietrich]], but Russian scenarios were out of favour and the project was dropped.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Turner&quot;&gt;Turner, Jenny. {{cite web|title=&quot;As Astonishing as Elvis&quot;|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n23/turn03_.html|date=[[2006-03-24]]}} Review of Jeff Briting's biography, ''Ayn Rand''.&lt;/ref&gt; Rand then wrote the play ''[[The Night of January 16th]]'' in 1934, which was produced on [[Broadway theater|Broadway]]. The play was a [[courtroom drama]] in which a [[jury]] chosen from the audience decided the verdict, leading to one of two possible endings.&lt;ref&gt; &quot;A Sense of Life&quot; homepage. &lt;/ref&gt;

Rand then published the novel, ''[[We the Living]]'' in 1936. &quot;Rand described ''We the Living'' as the most autobiographical of her novels, its theme being the brutality of life under communist rule in Russia.&quot;&lt;ref&gt; {{cite web|url=http://www.iep.utm.edu/r/rand.htm|title=&quot;Ayn Rand&quot;|date=2006-03023}} at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.&lt;/ref&gt; Its harsh anti-communist tone met with mixed reviews in the U.S., where the period of [[The Great Depression]] was sometimes known as &quot;[[The Red Decade]]&quot; in reference to the high-water mark of sympathy for socialist ideals. Stephen Cox, at [[The Objectivist Center]], observed that ''We the Living'' &quot;was published at the height of Russian socialism's popularity among leaders of American opinion. It failed to attract an audience.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Cox&quot;&gt;Cox, Stephen. {{cite web|title=&quot;Anthem: An appreciation.&quot;|url=http://www.theatlassociety.org/cox_anthem_appreciation.asp|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt;

Frank O'Connor and Ayn Rand spent the summer of 1937 in [[Stony Creek, Connecticut]], while Frank worked in [[summer stock theatre]],&lt;ref name=&quot;Cox&quot;/&gt; and Ayn planned the novella ''[[Anthem (novella)|Anthem]],'' a [[dystopian]] vision of a futuristic society where collectivism has triumphed. ''Anthem'' did not find a publisher in the United States and was first published in [[England]] in 1938.

===''The Fountainhead''===
{{Main|The Fountainhead}}

Rand's first major professional success came with her best-selling novel ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' (1943), which she wrote over a period of seven years. The novel was rejected by twelve publishers. It was finally accepted by the [[Bobbs-Merrill Company]] publishing house, thanks mainly to a member of the editorial board, Archibald Ogden, who praised the book in the highest terms (&quot;If this is not the book for you, then I am not the editor for you.&quot;) and finally prevailed.&lt;ref name=&quot;Cato&quot;&gt; [[Cato Institute]], {{cite web|url=http://www.cato.org/special/threewomen/fountainhead.html|title=&quot;''The Fountainhead''&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-30}}&lt;/ref&gt; Eventually, ''The Fountainhead'' was a worldwide success, bringing Rand fame and financial security. In 1949 it was made into a [[The Fountainhead (film)|major motion picture]] by [[Warner Brothers]] with [[Gary Cooper]] and [[Patricia Neal]]; Rand wrote the screenplay. In the sixty years since it was published, Rand's novel has sold six million copies, and continues to sell about 100,000 copies per year.&lt;ref name=&quot;Cato&quot;/&gt;

Following the success of ''The Fountainhead'', Rand wrote screenplays for two movies, ''[[Love Letters (1945 film)|Love Letters]]'' and ''You Came Along''.

===''Atlas Shrugged''===
{{Main|Atlas Shrugged}}
[[Image:2005-12-22 - United States - New York - City of New York - Atlas Building - Black and White.jpg|right|200px|thumb|&quot;[[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]],&quot; the largest sculptural work at [[Rockefeller Center]] in [[New York City]], by Lee Lawrie and Rene Chambellan, in the [[Art Deco]] style. (1936)]]Rand's [[magnum opus]], ''[[Atlas Shrugged]],'' was published in 1957. Due to the success of ''The Fountainhead,'' the initial printing was 100,000 copies,&lt;ref&gt;[[Whittaker Chambers|Chambers, Whittaker]]. {{cite web|title=&quot;Big Sister is Watching You.&quot;|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp|accessdate=2006-03-24}} Reprint of contemporary review of ''Atlas Shrugged'' from ''[[National Review]].''&lt;/ref&gt; and the book went on to become an international bestseller. Although the frequent claim&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=Atlas Shrugged review at Amazon.com|url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452011876/ref=dp_proddesc_2/002-9125768-7844058?%5Fencoding=UTF8&amp;n=283155&amp;v=glance|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; that ''Atlas Shrugged'' became the &quot;second most influential book in America, after [[The Bible]],&quot;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;q=%22Atlas+Shrugged%22+most+popular+Library+of+Congress&amp;btnG=Search|title=Google.com search|accessdate=2006-03-24}} showing this widespread claim.&lt;/ref&gt; may be an exaggeration of the findings of a 1991 survey, Atlas Shrugged has been cited in numerous interviews as the book that most influenced the subject.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/books/rand/atlas/faq.html#Q6.4|title=Rand FAQ at Noble Soul|accessdate=2006-03-25}} Provides detail about the actual survey and findings.&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Salmonson, Jessica Amanda. {{cite web|url=http://www.violetbooks.com/aynrand.html|title=&quot;'Ayn Rand, More Popular than God!' Objectivists Allege!&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-24}} Although the author appears to have a strong dislike of Rand and her supporters, her conclusions about the &quot;Book of the Month Club&quot; survey appear to be supported.&lt;/ref&gt;

''Atlas Shrugged'' is often seen as Rand's most extensive statement of Objectivism in any of her works of fiction. In its appendix, she offered this summary:
:&quot;My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.&quot;

The theme of ''Atlas Shrugged'' is &quot;The role of man's mind in society.&quot; Rand upheld the industrialist as one of the most admirable members of any society and fiercely opposed the popular resentment accorded to industrialists. This led her to envision a novel wherein the industrialists of America go on [[strike action|strike]] and retreat to a mountainous hideaway, where they build an independent free economy with gold currency. The American economy and its society in general, deprived of its most productive members, slowly start to collapse. The government responds by increasing the already stifling controls on industry. 

The novel, which includes elements of mystery and science fiction, deals with other diverse issues as wide-ranging as sex, music, medicine, politics, philosophy, industry, and human ability.

==Philosophy==
{{Main|Objectivism (Ayn Rand)}}

===Objectivism: Ayn Rand's philosophical system===

Rand's philosophical system, [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]], encompasses positions on [[metaphysics]], [[epistemology]], [[ethics]], [[politics]] and [[aesthetics]]. While there have been &quot;[[Objectivity (philosophy)|objectivist]]&quot; theories in the past, Rand's [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]] uses the term in a new way: it treats knowledge and values as neither subjective, nor ''intrinsic in existence'' (the traditional meaning of &quot;objective&quot;) but rather as ''the factual identification,'' by Man's mind, of what exists.

===Philosophical influences=== 
Rand was greatly influenced by [[Aristotle]], found early inspiration in [[Nietzsche]], and was vociferously opposed to some of the views of [[Kant]]. She also claimed intellectual kinship with [[John Locke]], who conceptualized the ideas that individuals &quot;own themselves,&quot; have a right to the products of their own labor, and have [[natural rights]] to life, liberty, and property,&lt;ref&gt; {{cite web|url=http://www.mondopolitico.com/ideologies/atlantis/whatisobjectivism.htm|title=&quot;What is objectivism?&quot;|accessdate=2006-04-10}}. Refers to a Leonard Peikoff lecture describing the connection between Rand and [[John Locke]]'s [[Two Treatises of Government]] (1689).&lt;/ref&gt; and more generally with the philosophies of the [[Age of Enlightenment]] and the [[Age of Reason]]. She occasionally reported her approval of specific philosophical positions, including some of [[Baruch Spinoza]] and [[St. Thomas Aquinas]]. She also respected the 20th-century American rationalist [[Brand Blanshard]], who, like Rand, believed that &quot;there has been no period in the past two thousand years when [both reason and rationality] have undergone a bombardment so varied, so competent, so massive and sustained as in the last half-century.&quot;&lt;ref&gt; Branden, Nathaniel. {{cite web|url=http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/articles_essays/review_of_reason.html|title=&quot;Review of ''Reason and Analysis''&quot;|accessdate=2006-04-10}} A review of Blanshard's book, originally published in ''The Objectivist Newsletter'', February 1963.&lt;/ref&gt;

====Aristotle====
Rand's greatest influence was [[Aristotle]], especially ''[[Organon]]'' (&quot;Logic&quot;); she considered Aristotle the greatest philosopher.&lt;ref&gt;Long, Roderick T. {{cite web|title=&quot;Ayn Rand's contribution to the cause of freedom.&quot;|url=http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1738|date=[[2006-03-23]]}}: &quot;Rand always firmly insisted that Aristotle was the greatest and that Thomas Aquinas was the second greatest—her own atheism notwithstanding.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; In particular, her philosophy reflects an Aristotelian [[epistemology]] and [[metaphysics]] &amp;ndash; both Aristotle and Rand argued that &quot;there exists an objective reality that is independent of mind and that is capable of being known.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Sternberg&quot;&gt; Sternberg, Elaine. {{cite web|title=&quot;Why Ayn Rand Matters: Metaphysics, Morals, and Liberty.|url=http://www.dailyspeculations.com/Ayn%20Rand/Ayn-Rand-posts.html|accessdate=2006-04-02}}&lt;/ref&gt; Although Rand was ultimately critical of Aristotle's ethics, others have noted her egoistic ethics &quot;is of the ''[[eudaemonia|eudemonistic]]'' type, close to Aristotle's own...a system of guidelines required by human beings to live their lives successfully, to flourish, to survive as 'man qua man.'&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Machan&quot;&gt; Machan, Tibor. {{cite web|url=http://www.freemarketnews.com/Analysis/117/3475/2006-01-18.asp?nid=3475&amp;wid=117|title=&quot;Cooper on Rand &amp; Aristotle.&quot;|accessdate=2006-04-02}}&lt;/ref&gt; Younkins argued &quot;that her philosophy diverges from Aristotle’s by considering [[essences]] as epistemological and contextual instead of as metaphysical. She envisions Aristotle as a philosophical intuitivist who declared the existence of essences within concretes.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Younkins&quot;&gt; Younkins, Edward W. {{cite web|title=&quot;Aristotle: Ayn Rand's Acknowledged Teacher&quot;|url=http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/Younkins/Aristotle_Ayn_Rands_Acknowledged_Teacher.shtml|accessdate=2006-04-03}}&lt;/ref&gt;.

====Nietzsche====
In her early life, Rand admired the work of [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], and did share &quot;Nietzsche's reverence for human potential and his loathing of Christianity and the philosophy of Immanuel Kant,&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Hicks&quot;&gt; Hicks, Stephen. {{cite web|url=http://www.objectivistcenter.org/ct-184-Big_Game_Small_Gun.aspx|title=&quot;Big Game, Small Gun?&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-30}} A review of Ronald E. Merrill's ''The Ideas of Ayn Rand''.&lt;/ref&gt; but eventually became critical, seeing his philosophy as emphasizing emotion over reason and subjective interpretation of reality over actual reality.&lt;ref name=&quot;Hicks&quot;/&gt; There is debate about the extent of the relationship between Rand's views and Nietzsche's, and over what seemed to be an evolution of Rand's view of Nietzsche. [[Allan Gotthelf]], in ''On Ayn Rand'', describes the first edition of ''We the Living'' as very sympathetic to Nietzschean ideas. Bjorn Faulkner and Karen Andre, characters from ''The Night of January 16th'', exemplify certain aspects of Nietzsche's views. Ronald Merrill, author of ''The Ideas of Ayn Rand'' identified a passage in ''We the Living'' that Rand had omitted from the 1959 reprint: &quot;In it, the heroine entertains (though finally rejects) sentiments explicitly attributed to Nietzsche about the justice of sacrificing the weak for the strong.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;McLemee&quot;&gt; McLemee, Scott. {{cite web|title=&quot;The Heirs of Ayn Rand.&quot;|url=http://www.mclemee.com/id39.html|accessdate=2006-04-03}} originally in ''Lingua Franca'', September 1999. &lt;/ref&gt; Rand herself denied a close intellectual relationship with Nietzsche and characterized changes in later editions of ''We the Living'' as stylistic and grammatical.

The destruction of Gail Wynand in ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' is an example of her later view, a rejection of Nietzsche, that the great cannot succeed by sacrificing the masses: &quot;her [1934] journals suggest a rejection of traditional false-alternative ethics. Her [[May 15]] entry, for example, identifies the error of Nietzscheans such as Gail Wynand: in trying to achieve power, they use the masses, but at the cost of their ideals and standards, and thus become 'a slave to those masses.' The independent man, therefore, will not make his success dependent upon the masses.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Hicks&quot;/&gt; Although Rand disagreed with many of Nietzsche's ideas, the introduction to the 25th anniversary edition of ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' concludes with Nietzsche's statement, &quot;The noble soul has reverence for itself.&quot;

====Kant====
{{see also|Critique of Pure Reason}}
[[Image:Kant 2.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Her interpretation of Kant's views on metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics led Rand to consider him a &quot;monster.&quot;]]
Rand was deeply opposed to the philosophy of [[Immanuel Kant]]. Their divergence is greatest in [[metaphysics]] and [[epistemology]], particularly with regard to Kant's analytic-synthetic dichotomy, rather than the [[ethics]] of Kant's well known [[categorical imperative]] (her critique of Kant's ethics is directly rooted in Kant's metaphysics and epistemology). Rand and Kant had significantly different theories of concepts, identity, and consciousness: In [[Objectivist epistemology]], reason is the highest virtue, and reason and logic can be used to attain a contextual knowledge of objective reality. Kant believed that we cannot have certain knowledge about the true nature of reality (&quot;things-in themselves&quot;), but only of the manner in which we perceive reality. For example, we can know for certain that we are unable to conceive of an object which is not extended - i.e., does not occupy physical space - but it does not follow that no object that is not extended can exist. Rand believed that if an object has an effect upon the senses, then that effect provides evidence about the nature of the object itself. In Rand's view, Kant's dichotomy severed rationality and reason from the real world.  In Rand's words, {{cquote|I have mentioned in many articles that Kant is the chief destroyer of the modern world... You will find that on every fundamental issue, Kant's philosophy is the exact opposite of Objectivism.&lt;ref name=&quot;Hsieh&quot;&gt; Hsieh, Diana. {{cite web|title=&quot;David Kelley versus Ayn Rand on Kant.&quot;|url=http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog/2006/02/david-kelley-versus-ayn-rand-on-kant.html|accessdate=2006-03-30}}&lt;/ref&gt;}}
In the final issue of ''The Objectivist,'' she further wrote, {{cquote|Suppose you met a twisted, tormented young man and... discovered that he was brought up by a man-hating monster who worked systematically to paralyze his mind, destroy his self-confidence, obliterate his capacity for enjoyment and undercut his every attempt to escape... Western civilization is in that young man's position. The monster is Immanuel Kant.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Hsieh&quot;&gt; Hsieh, Diana. {{cite web|title=&quot;David Kelley versus Ayn Rand on Kant.&quot;|url=http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog/2006/02/david-kelley-versus-ayn-rand-on-kant.html|accessdate=2006-03-30}}&lt;/ref&gt;}}

==Objectivist movement==
{{Main|Objectivist movement}}
In 1950 Rand moved to 120 East 34th Street&lt;ref&gt; Branden, Nathaniel. {{cite web|title=&quot;Devers Branden and Ayn Rand.&quot;|url=http://rous.redbarn.org/objectivism/writing/NathanielBranden/DeversAndAyn.html|accessdate=2006-04-06}}&lt;/ref&gt; in [[New York City]], and formed a group (jokingly designated &quot;[[The Ayn Rand Collective|The Collective]]&quot;) which included future [[Federal Reserve]] chairman Alan Greenspan, a young psychology student named Nathan Blumenthal (later [[Nathaniel Branden]]) and his wife [[Barbara Branden|Barbara]], and [[Leonard Peikoff]], all of whom had been profoundly influenced by ''The Fountainhead.''  According to Branden, &quot;I wrote Miss Rand a letter in 1949... [and] I was invited to her home for a personal meeting in March, 1950, a month before I turned twenty.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.nathanielbranden.com/catalog/rand.php#|title=Nathaniel Branden discusses his relationship with Rand.|date=[[2006-03-23]]}}&lt;/ref&gt;  Rand launched the [[Objectivist philosophy|Objectivist]] movement with this group to promote her philosophy.

The group originally started out as informal gathering of friends who met with Rand on weekends at her apartment to discuss philosophy; later the Collective would proceed to play a larger, more formal role, helping edit ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' and promoting Rand's philosophy through the [[Nathaniel Branden Institute]] (NBI), established by him for that purpose. Many Collective members gave lectures at the NBI and in cities across the United States, while others wrote articles for its sister newsletter, ''[[The Objectivist]].''

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Rand developed and promoted her Objectivist philosophy through both her fiction and non-fiction works, and by giving talks at several east-coast universities, largely through the NBI: &quot;''[[The Objectivist Newsletter]],'' later expanded and renamed simply ''The Objectivist,'' contained essays by Rand, Branden, and other associates... that analyzed current political events and applied the principles of Objectivism to everyday life.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;JVL&quot;/&gt; Rand later published some of these in book form.

After several years, Rand's close relationship with the much younger Branden turned into a romantic affair, with the consent of their spouses. It lasted until Branden (having separated from Barbara) entered into an affair with the young actress [[Patrecia Scott]], whom he later married. The Brandens hid the affair from Rand, and when she found out, she abruptly ended her relationship with both Brandens and with the NBI, which closed. She published a letter in ''The Objectivist'' repudiating Branden for dishonesty and &quot;irrational behavior&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;thimc&quot;&gt;Rand, Ayn.  To whom it may concern.  ''The Objectivist,'' v. 7, no. 5, pp. 1-8, New York 1968.&lt;/ref&gt;, never disclosing their affair. Both Brandens remain ''[[persona non grata|personae non gratae]]'' to the mainline Objectivist movement, particularly the group that formed the [[Ayn Rand Institute]].

==Political and social views==
Rand held that the only moral social system is ''[[laissez-faire]]'' [[capitalism]]. Her political views were strongly [[individualist]] and hence [[anti-statist]] and [[anti-Communist]]. She exalted what she saw as the heroic [[American values]] of [[rational egoism]] and [[individualism]]. As a champion of rationality, Rand also had a strong opposition to [[mysticism]] and [[religion]], which she believed helped foster a crippling culture acting against individual human happiness and success. Rand detested many prominent [[liberalism|liberal]] and [[American conservatism|conservative]] politicians of her time, including prominent anti-Communists, such as [[Harry S. Truman]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Hubert Humphrey]], and [[Joseph McCarthy]]. She opposed US involvement in [[World War I]], [[World War II]]&lt;ref name=&quot;WWII&quot;&gt; {{cite web|title=&quot;Ayn Rand on WWII&quot;|url=http://ariwatch.com/AynRandOnWWII.htm|accessdate=2006-04-07}} Excerpts from Rand's writing, cited at the ARI Watch website.&lt;/ref&gt; and the [[Korean War]], although she also strongly denounced [[pacifism]]: &quot;When a nation resorts to war, it has some purpose, rightly or wrongly, something to fight for – and the only justifiable purpose is self-defense.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;honoringvirtue&quot;&gt; {{cite web|url=http://ariwatch.com/HonoringVirtue.htm|title=&quot;Honoring Virtue&quot;|accessdate=2006-04-06}} at the ARI website.&lt;/ref&gt;
She opposed U.S. involvement in the [[Vietnam War]], &quot;If you want to see the ultimate, suicidal extreme of altruism, on an international scale, observe the war in Vietnam – a war in which American soldiers are dying for no purpose whatever,&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;honoringvirtue&quot;/&gt; but also felt that unilateral American withdrawal would be a mistake of [[appeasement]] that would embolden communists and the Soviet Union.&lt;ref name=&quot;WWII&quot;/&gt; She said also that she considered the anti-Communist [[John Birch Society]] &quot;futile, because they are not for capitalism but merely against communism.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;http://www.ellensplace.net/ar_pboy.html&lt;/ref&gt;

Rand supported [[Israel]] during the 1973 [[Yom Kippur War|Arab-Israeli War]], which she saw as an attack on a government that supported individual rights: &quot;The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures. They are typically nomads. Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it's the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent. When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter who they are.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Ayn Rand Ford Hall Forum lecture, 1974, text published on the website of [[The Ayn Rand Institute]] [http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_america_at_war_israeli_arab_conflict]&lt;/ref&gt;

Rand is considered one of the three founding mothers (along with [[Rose Wilder Lane]] and [[Isabel Paterson]]) of modern American [[libertarianism]], although she rejected Libertarianism and the [[Libertarian movement]]. [http://www.fee.org/publications/the-freeman/article.asp?aid=3345] 
. 
===Economics===
She expressed qualified enthusiasm for the economic thought of [[Ludwig von Mises]] and [[Henry Hazlitt]]. The [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]] says that &quot;it was largely as a result of Ayn's efforts that the work of von Mises began to reach its potential audience.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Long, Roderick T. {{cite web|url=http://www.mises.org/fullstory.aspx?Id=1738|title=&quot;Ayn Rand's Contributions to the Cause of Freedom.&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-26}} Long also cites Barbara Branden's ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'' as the source for this claim.&lt;/ref&gt; Later Objectivists, such as [[Richard Salsman]], have claimed that Rand's economic theories are implicitly more supportive of the doctrines of [[Jean-Baptiste Say]], though Rand herself was likely not acquainted with his work.

===Gender, sex, and race===
{{seealso|Objectivism, Ayn Rand, and homosexuality}}
Rand's views on [[gender role]]s have created some controversy. While her books championed men and women as intellectual equals (for example, Dagny Taggart – the protagonist of ''Atlas Shrugged'' – was a hands-on railroad executive), she thought that the differences in the physiology of men and women led to fundamental psychological differences that were the source of gender roles.  Rand denied endorsing any kind of power difference between men and women, stating that metaphysical dominance in sexual relations refers to the man's role as the prime mover in sex and the necessity of male arousal for sex to occur.&lt;ref name=&quot;Ayn Rand Answers&quot;&gt;Rand, Ayn. Ayn Rand Answers: The Best of Her Q and A, (2006) ISBN 0451216652  &lt;/ref&gt; According to Rand, &quot;For a woman ''qua'' woman, the essence of femininity is hero-worship &amp;ndash; the desire to look up to man.&quot; (1968)

Rand's theory of sex is implied by her broader ethical and psychological theories. Far from being a debasing animal instinct, she believed that sex is the highest celebration of our greatest values. Sex is a physical response to intellectual and spiritual values &amp;ndash; a mechanism for giving concrete expression to values that could otherwise only be experienced in the abstract. In ''Atlas Shrugged'', one of the heroes says &quot;Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive and I will tell you his entire philosophy of life. Show me the woman he sleeps with and I will tell you his valuation of himself.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;AtlasShruggedSex&quot;&gt;Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged, p453&lt;/ref&gt;

In a [[Playboy]] magazine interview, Rand stated that women are not psychologically suited to be President and strongly opposed the modern [[feminist]] movement, despite supporting some of its goals.&lt;ref name=&quot;new left&quot;&gt;Rand, Ayn. The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution, (1993) ISBN 0-452-01125-6&lt;/ref&gt; Feminist author [[Susan Brownmiller]] called Rand &quot;a traitor to her own sex,&quot; while others, including [[Camille Paglia]] and the contributors to 1999's ''Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand,'' have noted Rand's &quot;fiercely independent &amp;ndash; and unapologetically sexual&quot; heroines who are unbound by &quot;tradition's chains... [and] who had sex because they wanted to.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;McLemee&quot;/&gt;

In ''Atlas Shrugged,'' Rand has one of her villains, Lillian Rearden, observe that the &quot;band on the wrist of [Dagny's] naked arm gave her the most feminine of all aspects: the look of being chained.&quot;  Lillian says, &quot;I am humbly aware that the wife of a great man has to be contented with reflected glory—don't you think so, Miss Taggart?&quot; &quot;No,&quot; said Dagny, &quot;I don't.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Rand, Ayn. ''Atlas Shrugged'', Random House (1957), pp. 136-137.&lt;/ref&gt; This novel, along with ''Night of January 16th'' (1968) and ''The Fountainhead'' (1943), features sex scenes with stylized erotic combat that some claim borders on [[rape]]. Rand said that if what ''The Fountainhead'' depicted was rape it was &quot;rape by engraved invitation.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Branden, Barbara. ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'', Doubleday (1986) ISBN 0385191715, p. 134.&lt;/ref&gt; In a review of a biography of Rand, writer Jenny Turner opined, &lt;blockquote&gt;&quot;the sex in Rand’s novels is extraordinarily violent and fetishistic. In ''The Fountainhead,'' the first coupling of the heroes, heralded by whips and rock drills and horseback riding and cracks in marble, is ‘an act of scorn ... not as love, but as defilement’ &amp;ndash; in other words, a rape. (‘The act of a master taking shameful, contemptuous possession of her was the kind of rapture she had wanted.’ In ''Atlas Shrugged,'' erotic tension is cleverly increased by having one heroine bound into a plot with lots of spectacularly cruel and handsome men.)&lt;ref name=&quot;Turner&quot;/&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

Another source of controversy is Rand's view of [[homosexuality]]. According to remarks at the [[Ford Hall Forum]] at [[Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts)|Northeastern University]] in 1971, Rand's personal view was that homosexuality is &quot;immoral&quot; and &quot;disgusting.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Ford&quot;&gt; Ford Hall forum remarks, cited in {{cite web|url=http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq.html#Q5.2.6|title=&quot;Ayn Rand Biographical FAQ: Ayn Rand and Homosexuality&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; Specifically, she stated that &quot;there is a psychological immorality at the root of homosexuality&quot; because &quot;it involves psychological flaws, corruptions, errors, or unfortunate premises.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq-notes.html#n5.2.6-1|title=Notes, The Ayn Rand Biographical FAQ|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; A number of noted current and former Objectivists have been highly critical of Rand for her views on homosexuality.&lt;ref&gt;Varnell, Paul. {{cite web|title=&quot;Ayn Rand and Homosexuality&quot;|url=http://www.indegayforum.org/authors/varnell/varnell118.html|accessdate=2007-10-06}} at the Indegay Forum, originally published in the Chicago Free Press Dec. 3, 2003. &lt;/ref&gt; Others, such as Kurt Keefner, have argued that &quot;Rand’s views were in line with the views at the time of the general public and the psychiatric community,&quot; though he asserts that &quot;she never provided the slightest argument for her position, [...] because she regarded the matter as self-evident, like the woman president issue&quot;&lt;ref&gt; Keefner, Kurt. {{cite web|url=http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/homo/atlasphere.htm|title=&quot;Sciabarra on Ayn Rand and Homosexuality&quot;|date=[[2006-03-24]]}} A review of
Chris Matthew Sciabarra’s ''Ayn Rand, Homosexuality, and Human Liberation ''(2003, Leap Publishing)&lt;/ref&gt; although in her article &quot;About a Woman President&quot; Rand said that that issue was ''not'' self-evident.  

In the same appearance, Rand noted, &quot;I do not believe that the government has the right to prohibit [[homosexual behavior]]. It is the privilege of any individual to use his sex life in whichever way he wants it.&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Ford&quot;/&gt;

Rand defended the right of businesses to discriminate on the basis of [[sexual orientation]], [[race]], or any other criteria. Rand argued that no one's rights are violated by a private individual's or organization's refusal to deal with him, even if the reason is irrational. 

Rand opposed ethnic and racial prejudice on moral grounds, in essays like &quot;Racism&quot; and &quot;Global Balkanization,&quot; while still arguing for the right of individuals and businesses to act on such prejudice without government intervention. She wrote, &quot;[[Racism]] is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of [[collectivism]]... [the notion] that a man is to be judged, not by his own character and actions, but by the characters and actions of a collective of ancestors,&quot;&lt;ref&gt; Rand, Ayn. &quot;Racism,&quot; in ''Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution'' ISBN 0-452-01184-1, p. 179, at {{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_topic_racism_and_diversity|title=The Ayn Rand Institute|accessdate=2006-03-31}}&lt;/ref&gt; but also opposed governmental remedies for this problem: &quot;Private racism is not a legal, but a moral issue &amp;ndash; and can be fought only by private means, such as economic [[boycott]] or social ostracism.&quot;&lt;ref&gt; &quot;Racism,&quot; in ''Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution'', p. 182 &lt;/ref&gt;

===HUAC testimony===
In 1947, during the [[Second Red Scare]], Rand testified as a &quot;friendly witness&quot; before the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]].([http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&amp;id=6125 transcript here]) Her testimony regarded the disparity between her personal experiences in the [[Soviet Union]] and the fanciful portrayal of it in the 1943 film ''[[Song of Russia]]''. Rand argued that the film grossly misrepresented the socioeconomic conditions in the Soviet Union and portrayed life in the USSR as being much better than it actually was. Furthermore, she believed that even if a temporary alliance with the USSR was necessary to defeat the Nazis, the case for this should not have been made by portraying what she believed were falsely positive images of Soviet life: 

&lt;blockquote&gt;&quot;If we had good reason, if that is what you believe, all right, then why not tell the truth? Say it is a dictatorship, but we want to be associated with it. Say it is worthwhile being associated with the devil, as Churchill said, in order to defeat another evil which is Hitler. There might be some good argument made for that. But why pretend that Russia was not what it was?&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;HUAC&quot;&gt;Rand's HUAC testimony, cited at {{cite web|url=http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/texts/huac.html|title=The Objectivism Reference Center|accessdate=2006-04-07}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt; 

After the hearings, when Rand was asked about her feelings on the effectiveness of their investigations, she described the process as &quot;futile&quot;.&lt;ref name=&quot;HUAC&quot;/&gt;

===Charity===
Rand supported, in principle, the right to give charity but opposed the notion that it was a moral duty, and she did not consider it a major virtue.&lt;ref&gt;http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=faq_index#obj_q7&lt;/ref&gt; She opposed all charity and social programs by the government.  According to Cathy Young, her characterization of charity in her fiction was chiefly negative.&lt;ref&gt;http://www.reason.com/news/show/36527.html&lt;/ref&gt;

==Later years==
===Visiting lecturer===
Rand was a visiting lecturer at several universities, beginning in 1960 when she talked at [[Yale University]], [[Princeton University]] and [[Columbia University]]. In subsequent years, she went on to lecture at [[University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin]], [[Johns Hopkins University]], [[Harvard University]] and [[Mit|MIT]].&lt;ref&gt;Ayn Rand's Bibliography {{cite web|title=&quot;Ayn Rand's Bibliography&quot;|url=http://festivals.iloveindia.com/teachers-day/famous-teachers/ayn-rand.html|accessdate=2006-10-22}}&lt;/ref&gt; She received an honorary doctorate from [[Lewis &amp; Clark College]] in 1963.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;Timeline of Ayn Rand's Life and Career&quot;|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_timeline|accessdate=2007-04-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; 

For many years, she gave an annual lecture at the [http://www.fordhallforum.org/ Ford Hall Forum], answering questions from the audience afterward.

===Declining health and death===
[[Image:Ayn Rand Marker.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Grave marker of [[Frank O'Connor (actor)|Frank O'Connor]] and Ayn Rand.]]In 1973, she was briefly reunited with her youngest sister, Nora, who still lived in the Soviet Union.&lt;ref name=&quot;JVL&quot;&gt;Daligga, Catherine. {{cite web|url=http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Rand.html|title=&quot;Ayn Rand&quot; Biography at the Jewish Virtual Library|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; Although Rand had written 1,200 letters to her family in the Soviet Union, and had attempted to bring them to the United States, she had ceased contacting them in 1937 after reading a notice in the post office that letters from Americans might imperil Russians at risk from [[Josef Stalin|Stalinist]] repression. Rand received a letter from Nora in 1973 and invited her and her husband to America; but her sister's views had changed, and to Rand's disappointment Nora voluntarily returned to the USSR.&lt;ref&gt; {{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/News2?id=7581|title=&quot;Ayn Rand's Sister: Eleanora Drobyshev 1910-1999&quot;|accessdate=2006-04-05}}&lt;/ref&gt;

Rand underwent surgery for [[lung cancer]] in 1974, and conflicts continued in the wake of the break with Branden and the subsequent collapse of the NBI. Many of her closest &quot;Collective&quot; friends began to part ways, and during the late 1970s her activities within the formal Objectivist movement began to decline; a situation which increased after the death of her husband on [[November 9]], [[1979]].&lt;ref&gt; ARI, {{cite web|title=&quot;Timeline of Ayn Rand's Life and Career.&quot;|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_timeline|accessdate=2006-04-06}}&lt;/ref&gt; One of her final projects was work on a television adaptation of ''Atlas Shrugged.'' She had also planned to write another novel, ''To Lorne Dieterling,'' but did not get far in her notes.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite book | title = Journals of Ayn Rand | first = Ayn | last = Rand | publisher = Dutton (1997)}} Edited by David Harriman. p.''697''.&lt;/ref&gt;

Rand died of [[heart failure]] on [[March 6]], [[1982]] at her 34th Street home in [[New York City]],&lt;ref&gt; Saxon, Wolfgang. {{cite web|url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/wolfgang_saxon/index.html?offset=80&amp;s=oldest&amp;inline=nyt-per|title=&quot;Ayn Rand, 'Fountainhead' Author, Dies.&quot;|accessdate=2006-04-06}} ''The New York Times,'' March 7, 1982.&lt;/ref&gt; years after having successfully battled cancer, and was interred in the [[Kensico Cemetery]], [[Valhalla, New York]]. [[David Kelley]] read [[Rudyard Kipling|Kipling's]] poem &quot;[[If—]]&quot; at her graveside.&lt;ref name=&quot;JVL&quot;/&gt;&lt;ref&gt;http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-42-1579-Navigator_December_2004.aspx&lt;/ref&gt;
Rand's funeral was attended by some of her prominent followers, including [[Alan Greenspan]]. A six-foot floral arrangement in the shape of a dollar sign was placed near her casket.&lt;ref name=&quot;Leiendecker&quot;/&gt;

==Legacy==
[[Image:Ayn Rand quote, American Adventure, Epcot Center, Walt Disney World.jpg.jpg|thumb|right|A quote from Rand, featured in an American Adventure exhibit in the [[Epcot Centre]], [[Walt Disney World]].]]
Rand's books continue to be widely sold and read, with more than 22 million copies sold (as of 2005), and 500,000 more being sold each year.&lt;ref&gt;Cato: Ayn Rand at 100, {{cite web|title=&quot;Cato: Ayn Rand at 100&quot;|url=http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3661|accessdate=2006-04-23}}&lt;/ref&gt; Rand and Objectivism are less well known outside [[North America]], although there are pockets of interest in [[Europe]], [[Australia]], and [[New Zealand]]. Her novels are reported to be popular in [[India]]&lt;ref&gt;The Atlas Society, {{cite web|title=&quot;Celebrity Ayn Rand Fans&quot;|url=http://www.atlassociety.org/rand_fans.asp|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; and [[Turkey]] (where filmmaker [[Sinan Çetin]] publishes her works) and to be gaining an increasingly wider audience in [[Africa]]. She also enjoyed some popularity in Israel, through the early work of Moshe Kroy. Generally, Rand's work has had little effect on academic philosophy; her followers have been largely drawn from other professions. The Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship offers resources to study Objectivism at [[University of Texas at Austin|The University of Texas at Austin]], Ashland University in Ohio, and the University of Pittsburgh. At the University of Pittsburgh, professors James Lennox and [[Allan Gotthelf]] head the research. Both scholars are renowned for their illuminations of Aristotle's writings. [[Duke University]]'s professor Gary Hull is a member of the Ayn Rand Institute and has lectured courses incorporating Objectivist literature and discussion. Professor [[Allan Gotthelf]] also points to certain modern trends in academic philosophy which make philosophers more receptive to Objectivist ideas. Chief among them are the notions of essence and concept as epistemological developments in virtue theory ethics, and current projects in normative philosophies of science and logic. Following Rand's death, continued conflict within the Objectivist movement led to establishment of independent organizations claiming to be her intellectual heirs.

===Ayn Rand Institute===
{{main|Ayn Rand Institute}}

In 1985, [[Leonard Peikoff]], a surviving member of &quot;[[The Ayn Rand Collective|The Collective]]&quot; and Ayn Rand's designated heir, established &quot;The [[Ayn Rand Institute]]: The Center for the Advancement of Objectivism&quot; (ARI). The Institute has since registered the name &quot;Ayn Rand.&quot; The Ayn Rand Institute &quot;works to introduce young people to Ayn Rand's novels, to support scholarship and research based on her ideas, and to promote the principles of reason, rational self-interest, individual rights and laissez-faire capitalism to the widest possible audience.&quot;

===The Objectivist Center and The Atlas Society===
{{main|The Objectivist Center|The Atlas Society}}

Another schism in the movement occurred in 1989, when Objectivist [[David Kelley]] wrote &quot;A Question of Sanction,&quot; in which he defended his choice to speak to non-Objectivist [[Libertarianism|libertarian]] groups: &quot;It was a response to an article by [[Peter Schwartz]] in The Intellectual Activist, demanding that those who speak to libertarians be ostracized from the movement...[I] observed that Objectivism is not a closed system of belief; and that we might actually learn something by talking to people we disagree with.&quot; Kelley's description of the reasons behind the break is disputed by the Ayn Rand Institute.&lt;ref&gt;Kelley, David. {{cite web|url=http://www.objectivistcenter.org/showcontent.aspx?ct=39&amp;h=51|title=&quot;Introduction to 'The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand'&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; Peikoff, in an article for ''[[The Intellectual Activist]]'' called &quot;Fact and Value&quot; argued that Objectivism is, indeed, a closed system, and that truth and moral goodness are directly related.&lt;ref name=&quot;factandvalue&quot;&gt;Peikoff, Leonard. {{cite web|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_f-v|title=&quot;Fact and Value.&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; Peikoff expelled Kelley from his movement, whereupon Kelley founded The Institute for Objectivist Studies (now known as &quot;[[The Objectivist Center]]&quot;). It has since created a division called [[The Atlas Society]], which has its own web site that is focused on attracting Ayn Rand fiction readers, and downplays her role as a philosopher. This division is used for most public outreach efforts, with The Objectivist Center itself used principally for more academic ventures. The Atlas Society/Objectivist Center also publishes ''The New Individualist'' (formerly ''Navigator''), the first magazine in the U.S. to feature one of the [[Mohammad cartoons]] on the cover.

===Popular interest and influence===
[[Image:Fountainhead cafe.jpg|thumb|The Fountainhead Cafe, a coffee shop in [[New York City]] inspired by Objectivism. The sign reads &quot;Eat Objectively, Live Rich&quot;.]]
The column &quot;Book Notes&quot; of ''[[The New York Times]]'', reported in 1991 that in a survey by the [[Library of Congress]] and the [[Book-of-the-Month Club]], when asked what the most influential book in their lives was, Rand's ''Atlas Shrugged'' was the second most popular choice, after the [[Bible]].&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&amp;res=9D0CE7D61339F933A15752C1A967958260|title= Book Notes|author=Fein, Esther B|date=November 20, 1991|publisher=The New York Times}}&lt;/ref&gt; Readers polled in 1998 and 1999 by Modern Library placed four of her books on the 100 Best Novels list ([[Atlas Shrugged]], [[The Fountainhead]], [[Anthem (novella)|Anthem]], and [[We the Living]] were in first, second, seventh, and eighth place, respectively) and one on the 100 Best Nonfiction list ([[The Virtue of Selfishness]], in first place), with books about Rand and her philosophy in third and sixth place.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100best.html|title=&quot;The Modern Library: 100 Best&quot;|date=[[2007-11-02]]}}&lt;/ref&gt;

Numerous prominent individuals have acknowledged that Rand greatly influenced their lives, including: [[Harry Binswanger]], [[Nathaniel Branden]], [[Barbara Branden]], [[Sinan Çetin]], [[Roy A. Childs]], [[James Clavell]], [[Edward Cline]], [[Chris Cox]], [[Mark Cuban]], [[Paul DePodesta]], [[Steve Ditko]], [[Terry Goodkind]], [[Allan Gotthelf]], [[Alan Greenspan]], [[Hugh Hefner]], Erika Holzer, [[John Hospers]], [[Angelina Jolie]], [[David Kelley]], [[Billie Jean King]], [[Anton LaVey]], [[Rush Limbaugh]], [[Frank Miller (comics)|Frank Miller]], [[Ron Paul]], Michael Paxton, [[Neil Peart]], [[Leonard Peikoff]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[George Reisman]], [[John Ridpath]], [[Robert Ringer]], [[Tracey Ross]], [[Kay Nolte Smith]], [[Tara Smith (philosopher)|Tara Smith]], [[John Stossel]], [[Linda &amp; Morris Tannehill]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], [[Clarence Thomas]], [[Vince Vaughn]], [[Jimmy Wales]], and many others.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal|title=The New Individualist|issue=Jan/Feb|year=2006}}&lt;/ref&gt;  

Rand's philosophy of [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]] continues to influence workers in the [http://www.aristos.org arts], business, and [http://www.objectivescience.com science].   &quot;[http://www.theatlasphere.com The Atlasphere],&quot; an online community devoted to admirers of Rand, maintains a [[blog]] citing Rand's influence on popular or newsworthy figures who cite the influence of Rand's works on their lives,&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;The Atlasphere Metablog Celebrity Ayn Rand Fans Archive&quot;|url=http://www.theatlasphere.com/metablog/cat/celebrity-rand-fans/|accessdate=2006-03-24}}&lt;/ref&gt; while &quot;Randex&quot; updates a list of recent media references to Rand or her work.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;Media References to Ayn Rand &quot;|url=http://randex.org/|accessdate=2006-04-14}}&lt;/ref&gt;

[[BioShock]], a video game released in the summer of 2007, is built around a story influenced by Ayn Rand's philosophy and ''Atlas Shrugged''.

She appears on a 33 cent U.S. postage stamp, which debuted [[22 April]] [[1999]], in New York City.

===Rand's work and academic philosophy===
Rand's work has been mostly ignored by the academic philosophers of the English-speaking world. Few leading research universities consider Rand or Objectivism to be an important philosophical specialty or research area. Many adherents and practitioners of [[continental philosophy]] criticize her celebration of self-interest, so there has similarly been little focus on her work in this movement. However, since her death, there has been an increase in academic structures open to study of Ayn Rand's work. Those include: 
:*Fellowships for the study of Ayn Rand's ideas at academic institutions such as the University of Texas at Austin,&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.utexas.edu/opa/news/01newsreleases/nr_200110/nr_fellowship011016.html|title=''UT Texas Press Release''|accessdate=2006-04-14}}&lt;/ref&gt; Ashland University in Ohio, Cambridge University, and the University of Pittsburgh.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.umc.pitt.edu/media/pcc040223/briefly_noted.html|title=''Pitt Chronicle: Briefly Noted—New Pitt Fellowship for Study of Objectivism''|accessdate=2007-10-03}}&lt;/ref&gt;  Courses of the Ayn Rand Institute's [http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_academic_oac_faq Objectivist Academic Center] are accredited, so students can obtain university credits for studying Objectivism.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web
|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_academic_oac_faq#ugrad
|title=''The Ayn Rand Institute - Frequently Asked Questions''
|accessdate=2007-01-11}}&lt;/ref&gt;
:*The Ayn Rand Society, founded in 1987, is affiliated with the [[American Philosophical Association]], and has been active in sponsoring seminars.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrandsociety.org/|title=''Ayn Rand Society''|accessdate=2007-10-03}}&lt;/ref&gt;
:*The ''Journal of Ayn Rand Studies ''(JARS). It is a scholarly, peer reviewed journal dedicated to the study of Ayn Rand - principally her philosophic work. It is published twice yearly. JARS is nonpartisan and accepts articles that are favorable to or critical of Rand's positions.  The stated editorial position is to remain unaligned with any advocacy group, institution or person. &quot;While we publish essays by Objectivists and those influenced by Rand, we are especially interested in publishing scholars who work in traditions outside of Objectivism--including those who are critical of Rand's thought. We promote and encourage scholarly give-and-take among diverse elements of the academy.&quot; &lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|url=http://www.aynrandstudies.com/jars/reviews.asp|title=''Journal of Ayn Rand Studies''|accessdate=2006-03-28}}&lt;/ref&gt; 

In a 1999 interview in the ''Chronicle of Higher Education,'' Rand scholar Chris Matthew Sciabarra said, &quot;I know they laugh at Rand,&quot; while also noting a growing interest in her work in the academic community.&lt;ref&gt;Sharlet, Jeff. {{cite web|url=http://chronicle.com/colloquy/99/rand/background.htm|title=&quot;Ayn Rand Has Finally Caught the Attention of Scholars&quot;|accessdate=2006-03-28}}&lt;/ref&gt;

In 2006, [[Cambridge University Press]] published a volume on Rand's ethical theory written by ARI-affiliated scholar [[Tara Smith (philosopher)|Tara Smith]], a philosophy professor at the [[University of Texas at Austin]]. The book is titled ''Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist.'' Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews recently published a review of Smith's book by Helen Cullyer of the University of Pittsburgh. The review ends with the following:
&lt;blockquote&gt;&quot;It should be stressed in conclusion that whether one is a fan or a detractor of Ayn Rand, the issues raised by this book are manifold and provocative. This book should force a debate of renewed vigor about what we mean by egoism, whether and how the egoism/altruism dichotomy should be applied within eudaimonistic ethical theories, and what our ethical theories imply about our political outlook. Smith provides us with a version of egoism that will need to be argued against by those who find it distasteful or misguided, rather than simply dismissed.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=8123&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;

A recent conference at the University of Pittsburgh, &quot;Concept and Objectivity: Knowledge, Science, and Values,&quot; featured presentations by Objectivists Onkar Ghate, Allan Gotthelf, James Lennox, and Darryl Wright alongside influential non-Objectivist academics such as A.P. Martinich and Peter Railton.&lt;ref&gt;http://www.pitt.edu/~hpsdept/news/news/ConceptsObjConf2006.pdf&lt;/ref&gt;

===Student activism===
One of the reasons for the prominence of Ayn Rand and Objectivism in the news and popular culture relative to other philosophical theories&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;UK Guardian: A growing concern  &quot;|url= http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/worldwide/story/0,9959,615157,00.html| /=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;USA Today: Scandals lead execs to 'Atlas Shrugged'  &quot;|url= http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2002-09-23-ayn-rand_x.htm| /=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;202 stories with 'Ayn Rand' in Google News  &quot;|url= http://news.google.com/news?q=ayn+rand&amp;hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;scoring=d| /=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt; may be related to the dozens of student groups dedicated to promoting and studying the philosophy of Objectivism&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;Ayn Rand Institute Campus Clubs&quot;|url= http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=education_campus_findclubs| /=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;TOC Ayn Rand Clubs&quot;|url=http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-15-1448-Local_Clubs.aspx|accessdate=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;Meetup.com Ayn Rand Groups&quot;|url= http://aynrand.meetup.com/about/|accessdate=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt; spread across the U.S., Australia, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Norway.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;UK Guardian: A growing concern&quot;|url= http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/worldwide/story/0,9959,615157,00.html|accessdate=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt;  These clubs often present controversial speakers on topics such as abortion, religion, and foreign policy, often allying with controversial conservative (and sometimes liberal) organizations to organize their events. For example the NYU Objectivism Club hosted a joint panel&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;NYU Panel Commentary&quot;|url= http://nyu.objectivismonline.net/content/view/16/9/|accessdate=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt; on the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons|Muhammad cartoons]] that received nationwide coverage for NYU's censorship of the cartoons.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;Inside Higher Education&quot;|url=http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/03/30/cartoon |accessdate=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt;  There are several dozen speakers sponsored by the Ayn Rand Institute&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web|title=&quot;Ayn Rand Institute Speaker List&quot;|url=http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=media_speakers_writers |accessdate=2006-06-14}}&lt;/ref&gt; and other organizations, who give nationwide tours each year speaking about Objectivism.  

The [[Ayn Rand Institute]] has spent more than $5M on educational programs advancing Objectivism, including scholarships and clubs. These clubs often obtain educational materials and speakers from the ARI. The [http://www.objectivistclubs.org/ Objectivist Club Association] and [http://www.objectivismonline.net/ ObjectivismOnline] provide free hosting and organizational resources for Ayn Rand clubs. There are also several conferences organized by various organizations, such as the [http://www.objectivistconferences.com/ Objectivist Conferences], which are attended by several hundred &quot;new intellectuals&quot; each summer for two weeks and feature dozens of philosophy courses and presentations of new publications and research.

==Criticism==
===Philosophical criticism===
A notable exception to the general lack of attention paid to Rand in philosophy is the essay &quot;On the Randian Argument&quot; by [[Harvard University]] philosopher [[Robert Nozick]], which appears in his collection, ''Socratic Puzzles.'' Nozick is sympathetic to Rand's political conclusions, but he does not think her arguments justify them. In particular, his essay criticizes her foundational argument in ethics — laid out most explicitly in her book ''The Virtue of Selfishness'' — which claims that one's own life is, for each individual, the only ultimate value because it makes all other values possible. Nozick says that to make this argument sound Rand still needs to explain why someone could not rationally prefer dying and having no values. Thus, he argues, her attempt to defend the morality of selfishness is essentially an instance of [[begging the question]] and her solution to [[David Hume]]'s famous [[is-ought problem]] is unsatisfactory.

===Literary criticism===
Rand's novels, when they were first published, &quot;received almost unanimously terrible reviews&quot;&lt;ref name=&quot;Turner&quot; /&gt; and were derided by some critics as long and melodramatic.&lt;ref&gt;Chapman, Steve{{cite web|url=http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20050201-094832-2692r.htm|title=''The evolution of Ayn Rand''|accessdate=2006-04-09}} ''The Washington Times,'' February 2, 2005.&lt;/ref&gt;  Many of these, including her ''magnum opus,'' ''Atlas Shrugged,'' became bestsellers due largely to word of mouth.&lt;ref name=&quot;Turner&quot; /&gt; Scholars of English and American [[literature]] have largely ignored her work, although Rand has received some positive reviews from the literary establishment. For example, Lorine Pruette, a ''[[New York Times]]'' reviewer, wrote that Rand &quot;has written a hymn in praise of the individual,&quot; stating that &quot;you will not be able to read this masterful book without thinking through some of the basic concepts of our times.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Berliner, Michael S., ''Letters of Ayn Rand'' (New York: Plume, 1995), pp. 74.&lt;/ref&gt; Also, in the Literary Encyclopedia John Lewis of Ashland University calls her works &quot;the most intellectually challenging fiction of her generation.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Lewis, John, {{cite web|url=http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&amp;UID=3705|title=Literary Encyclopedia:Ayn Rand|accessdate=2007-26-11}}, October 20, 2001.&lt;/ref&gt;

The most famous review of ''Atlas Shrugged'' was written by the conservative author [[Whittaker Chambers]] and appeared in ''[[National Review]]'' in 1957. It was unrelentingly scathing. Chambers called the book &quot;sophomoric&quot;; and &quot;remarkably silly,&quot; and said it &quot;can be called a novel only by devaluing the term.&quot; The tone of the book was described as &quot;shrillness without reprieve&quot;. Chambers accused Rand, a refugee from [[totalitarianism]], as supporting the same godless system as the Soviets, stating that &quot;From almost any page of Atlas Shrugged, a voice can be heard, from painful necessity, commanding: ' To the gas chambers-- go!'&quot; &lt;ref&gt;{{Harvard reference | Surname=Chambers | Given=Whittaker | Authorlink=Whittaker Chambers | Title=Big Sister is Watching You| Journal=National Review| Year=1957 | Page=594-596 | URL=http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles2/ChambersAynRand.shtml}}&lt;/ref&gt; ''The Intellectual Activist'' published a reply, arguing that Chambers did not actually read the book, as he misspells the names of several major characters and uses no quotations from the novel in his critique.&lt;ref&gt;http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?id=4081&lt;/ref&gt; Mimi Gladstein called Rand's characters flat and uninteresting, and her heroes implausibly wealthy, intelligent, physically attractive and free of doubt while arrayed against antagonists who are weak, pathetic, full of uncertainty, and lacking in imagination and talent.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite book | title = Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand | first = Mimi R. | last = Gladstein |coauthor = Chris Matthew Sciabarra | publisher = Pennsylvania State University Press | year = 1999 | id = ISBN 0-271-01831-3 }} p. 140&lt;/ref&gt;

Rand herself replied to these literary criticisms (in advance of many of them) with her 1963 essay &quot;The Goal of My Writing,&quot; and in essays collected in ''[[The Romantic Manifesto|The Romantic Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature]]'' (2nd rev. ed. 1975), in which she states the goal of her fiction is to project her vision of an ideal man: not man as he is, but man as he might and ought to be.

===Cult criticism===
[[Murray Rothbard]] (who helped define modern [[libertarianism]] and [[anarcho-capitalism]] and wrote the Rand parody [[Mozart Was a Red]])&lt;ref&gt;Rothbard, Murray. {{cite web|title=&quot;The sociology of the Ayn Rand cult.&quot;|url=http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard23.html|accessdate=2006-03-31}}&lt;/ref&gt;, Jeff Walker (author of ''The Ayn Rand Cult'')&lt;ref&gt;Walker, Jeff (1999). ''The Ayn Rand Cult''. Chicago: Open Court. ISBN 0-8126-9390-6&lt;/ref&gt;, and [[Michael Shermer]] (founder of [[The Skeptics Society]])&lt;ref&gt;Shermer, Michael. {{cite web|title=&quot;The Unlikeliest Cult in History&quot;|url=http://www.2think.org/02_2_she.shtml|accessdate=2006-03-30}} Originally published in ''Skeptic'' vol. 2, no. 2, 1993, pp. 74-81.&lt;/ref&gt;, have accused Objectivism of being a cult, claiming typical cult traits,including slavish adherence to unprovable doctrine and extreme adulation of the founder.

The Biographical FAQ of the Objectivism Reference Center website discusses these allegations and refers to a letter in which Rand replies to a fan who wrote her offering cult-like allegiance by declaring &quot;A blind follower is precisely what my philosophy condemns and what I reject. Objectivism is not a mystic cult&quot;.&lt;ref&gt;Rand, Ayn ''Letters'', p. 592 Letter dated [[December 10]], [[1961]], Plume (1997), ISBN 0-452-27404-4, as cited in {{cite web|title=&quot;Ayn Rand Biographical FAQ: Did Rand organize a cult?&quot;|url=http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq.html#Q3.3|accessdate=2006-06-25}}&lt;/ref&gt;

==Bibliography==
===Fiction===
* ''[[Night of January 16th]]'' (1934) ISBN 0-452-26486-3
* ''[[We the Living]]'' (1936) ISBN 0-451-18784-9
* ''[[Anthem (novel)|Anthem]]'' (1938) ISBN 0-451-19113-7
* ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' (1943) ISBN 0-451-19115-3
* ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' (1957) ISBN 0-451-19114-5

===Nonfiction===
* ''[[For the New Intellectual]]'' (1961)
* ''[[The Virtue of Selfishness]]'' (with [[Nathaniel Branden]]) (1964)
* ''[[Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal]]'' (with [[Nathaniel Branden]], [[Alan Greenspan]], and [[Robert Hessen]]) (1966)
* ''[[Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology]]'' (1967)
* ''[[The Romantic Manifesto]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution|The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Philosophy: Who Needs It]]'' posthumously edited by Leonard Peikoff (1982)

===Posthumous works===
* ''[[The Early Ayn Rand]]'' (edited and with commentary by [[Leonard Peikoff]]) (1984)
* ''[[The Voice of Reason|The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought]]'' (edited by [[Leonard Peikoff]]; additional essays by [[Leonard Peikoff]] and [[Peter Schwartz]]) (1989)
* ''[[Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology]]'' second edition (edited by [[Harry Binswanger]]; additional material by [[Leonard Peikoff]]) (1990)
* ''Letters of Ayn Rand'' (edited by Michael S. Berliner) (1995)
* ''Journals of Ayn Rand'' (edited by David Harriman) (1997)
* ''Ayn Rand's Marginalia: Her Critical Comments on the Writings of over Twenty Authors'' (edited by Robert Mayhew) (1998)
* ''[[The Ayn Rand Column|The Ayn Rand Column: Written for the Los Angeles Times]]'' (edited by [[Peter Schwartz]]) (1998)
* ''Russian Writings on Hollywood'' (edited by Michael S. Berliner) (1999)
* ''[[Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution]]'' (expanded edition of ''The New Left''; edited and with additional essays by [[Peter Schwartz]]) (1999)
* ''[[The Art of Fiction]]'' (edited by Tore Boeckmann) (2000)
* ''The Art of Nonfiction'' (edited by Robert Mayhew) (2001)
* ''The Objectivism Research CD-ROM'' (collection of most of Rand's works in CD-ROM format) (2001)
* ''Three Plays'' (2005)
* ''Ayn Rand Answers'' (edited by Robert Mayhew) (2005)

===Film adaptations===
Without Rand's knowledge or permission, ''[[We the Living]]'' was made into a pair of films, ''Noi vivi'' and ''Addio, Kira'' in 1942 by Scalara Films, [[Rome]]. They were nearly censored by the [[Italy|Italian]] government under [[Benito Mussolini]], but they were permitted because the novel upon which they were based was anti-Soviet. The films were successful, and the public easily realized that they were as much against Fascism as Communism. These films were re-edited into a new version which was approved by Rand and re-released as ''We the Living'' in 1986.

''[[The Fountainhead (film)|The Fountainhead]]'' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041386/] was a [[Hollywood]] film (1949, Warner Bros.) starring [[Gary Cooper]], for which Rand wrote the screen-play. Rand initially insisted that [[Frank Lloyd Wright]] design the architectural models used in the film, but relented when his fee was too high.&lt;ref&gt; Skousen, after [[Barbara Branden]] ''The Passion of Ayn Rand'' ISBN 0-385-19171-5 &lt;/ref&gt;

A [[Atlas Shrugged (film)|film adaptation of ''Atlas Shrugged'']] is in pre-production as of late 2007, with production possibly starting in 2008,&lt;ref&gt; {{cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/|title=Atlas Shrugged, at the IMDB|accessdate=2006-03-31}}&lt;/ref&gt; although that may be affected by the [[2007 Writers Guild of America strike|writer's strike]].  In September 2007, Lions Gate Films reported that it had hired [[Vadim Perelman]] to revise [[Randall Wallace]]'s script and to direct the film, with screen star [[Angelina Jolie]] cast in the rôle of Dagny Taggart.&lt;ref&gt; {{cite web|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117971319.html|title=Vadim Perelman to direct 'Atlas'|accessdate=2007-10-02}}&lt;/ref&gt;

''[[The Passion of Ayn Rand]]'' [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140447/], an independent film about her life, was made in 1999, starring [[Helen Mirren]], [[Eric Stoltz]], and [[Peter Fonda]].  The film was based on the book by [[Barbara Branden]], one of her former associates, and won several awards for Helen Mirren, including the Emmy and the Golden Globe.

===Screenplays===
In addition to the screenplay of ''The Fountainhead'', Rand also collaborated on screenplays of ''You Came Along''  and ''[[Love Letters (1945 film)]]'' both filmed in 1945.

==References==
&lt;div class=&quot;references-small&quot; style=&quot;-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;&quot;&gt;
&lt;references /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;

==Further reading==
&lt;div class=&quot;references-small&quot;&gt;
* {{cite book
 | last = Baker | first = James T.
 | title = Ayn Rand
 | publisher = Twayne
 | location = Boston
 | year = 1987
 | id = ISBN 0-8057-7497-1
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Branden | first = Barbara
 | authorlink = Barbara Branden
 | title = The Passion of Ayn Rand
 | publisher = Doubleday &amp; Company
 | location = Garden City, New York
 | year = 1986
 | id = ISBN 0-385-19171-5
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Branden | first = Nathaniel
 | authorlink = Nathaniel Branden
 | title = My Years with Ayn Rand
 | publisher = Jossey Bass
 | location = San Francisco
 | year = 1998
 | id = ISBN 0-7879-4513-7
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Branden | first = Nathaniel
 | authorlink = Nathaniel Branden
 | coauthors = [[Barbara Branden]]
 | title = Who Is Ayn Rand?
 | publisher = Random House
 | location = New York
 | year = 1962
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Britting | first = Jeff
 | authorlink = Jeff Britting
 | title = Ayn Rand
 | publisher = Overlook Duckworth
 | location = New York
 | year = 2005
 | id = ISBN 1-58567-406-0
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Gladstein | first = Mimi Reisel
 | title = The New Ayn Rand Companion
 | publisher = Greenwood Press
 | location = Westport, Connecticut
 | year = 1999
 | id = ISBN 0-313-30321-5
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Gladstein | first = Mimi Reisel
 | coauthors = [[Chris Matthew Sciabarra]] (editors)
 | title = Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand
 | publisher = The Pennsylvania State University Press
 | location = University Park, Pennsylvania
 | year = 1999
 | id = ISBN 0-271-01830-5
 }}
* {{cite book
 | first =  Stephen | last = Hicks
 | authorlink = Stephen Hicks
 | title = Ayn Rand and Contemporary Business Ethics&lt;ref&gt;http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=782343&lt;/ref&gt;
 | year = 2003
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Mayhew | first = Robert
 | title = Ayn Rand and Song of Russia
 | publisher = Rowman &amp; Littlefield
 | location = Lanham, Maryland
 | year = 2004
 | id = ISBN 0-8108-5276-4
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Mayhew | first = Robert
 | title = Essays on Ayn Rand's Anthem
 | publisher = Rowman &amp; Littlefield
 | location = Lanham, Maryland
 | year = 2005
 | id = ISBN 0-7391-1031-4
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Mayhew | first = Robert
 | title = Essays on Ayn Rand's We the Living
 | publisher = Rowman &amp; Littlefield
 | location = Lanham, Maryland
 | year = 2004
 | id = ISBN 0-7391-0698-8
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Paxton | first = Michael
 | title = Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (The Companion Book)
 | publisher = Gibbs Smith
 | location = Layton, Utah
 | year = 1998
 | id = ISBN 0-87905-845-5
 }}
* {{cite journal
 | last = Peikoff | first = Leonard
 | authorlink = Leonard Peikoff
 | title = My Thirty Years with Ayn Rand: An Intellectual Memoir
 | journal = The Objectivist Forum
 | volume = 8
 | issue = 3
 | year = 1987
 | pages = 1–16
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Peikoff | first = Leonard
 | authorlink = Leonard Peikoff
 | title = Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
 | publisher = Plume
 | year = 1991
 | id = ISBN 0-452-01101-9
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Rothbard | first = Murray N.
 | authorlink = Murray N. Rothbard
 | title = The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult
 | url = http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard23.html
 | publisher = Liberty
 | location = Port Townsend, Washington
 | year = 1987
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Sures | first = Mary Ann
 | coauthors = Charles Sures
 | title = Facets of Ayn Rand
 | publisher = Ayn Rand Institute Press
 | location = Los Angeles
 | year = 2001
 | id = ISBN 0-9625336-5-3
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Sciabarra | first = Chris Matthew
 | authorlink = Chris Matthew Sciabarra
 | title = Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical
 | location = University Park, Pennsylvania
 | publisher = The Pennsylvania State University Press
 | year = 1995
 | id = ISBN 0-271-01440-7
 }}
* {{cite journal
 | last = Sciabarra | first = Chris Matthew
 | authorlink = Chris Matthew Sciabarra
 | title = The Rand Transcript
 | url = http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/randt2.htm
 | journal = The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies
 | volume = 1
 | issue = 1
 | year = 1999
 | pages = 1–26
 }}
* {{cite journal
 | last = Shermer | first = Michael
 | authorlink = Michael Shermer
 | url = http://www.2think.org/02_2_she.shtml
 | title = The Unlikeliest Cult In History
 | journal = Skeptic
 | volume = 2
 | issue = 2
 | year = 1993
 | pages = 74–81
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Valliant | first = James S.
 | authorlink = James S. Valliant
 | title = The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics
 | location = Dallas
 | publisher = Durban House
 | year = 2005
 | id = ISBN 1930754671 
}}
* {{cite book
 | author = Thomas, William (editor)
 | title = The Literary Art of Ayn Rand
 | location = Poughkeepsie, New York
 | publisher = The Objectivist Center
 | year = 2005
 | id = ISBN 1-57724-070-7
}}
* {{cite book
 | author = [[Leonard Peikoff|Peikoff, Leonard]]
 | title = Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
 | location = New York
 | publisher = Dutton
 | year = 1991
 | id = ISBN 0-452-01101-9
 }}
* {{cite book
 | last = Walker | first = Jeff
 | title = The Ayn Rand Cult
 | location = Chicago
 | publisher = Open Court
 | year = 1999
 | id = ISBN 0-8126-9390-6
 }}
&lt;/div&gt;

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Ayn Rand}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia-2|2007-06-02|Ayn_Rand1.ogg|Ayn_Rand2.ogg|...}}

===General information===
* [http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq.html Ayn Rand FAQ]
* [http://wiki.objectivismonline.net/ The Objectivism Wiki]
* [http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_faq_index2 Frequently Asked Questions on Ayn Rand]
* [http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/r/rand.htm &quot;Ayn Rand&quot; entry from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
* [http://www.americanwriters.org/archives/player/rand.asp American Writers: Ayn Rand] [[C-SPAN]] 2002 [[Real Time Streaming Protocol|RTSP]] videos.
* {{findagrave|851}}

===Rand's writing and speeches===
* [http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/texts/anthem/complete.html ''Anthem''] &amp;mdash; The complete text of the novel, which has fallen into the public domain
* [http://www.ayn-rand.com/ayn-rand-atlas-shrugged.asp ''Atlas Shrugged''] &amp;mdash; Book outline
* [http://www.ayn-rand.com/ayn-rand-fountainhead.asp ''The Fountainhead''] &amp;mdash; Book outline
* [http://www.ayn-rand.com/ayn-rand-we-the-living.asp ''We The Living''] &amp;mdash; Book outline
* [http://www.tracyfineart.com/usmc/philosophy_who_needs_it.htm &quot;Philosophy: Who Needs It?&quot;] &amp;mdash; Address To The Graduating Class Of The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York - [[March 6]], [[1974]]
* [http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/texts/huac.html Rand's HUAC testimony] &amp;mdash; Transcript
* [http://www.libertyhaven.org/bookstore/B00004LC7UAMUS169912.shtml ''We the Living''] &amp;mdash; Video outline
* {{gutenberg author| id=Ayn+Rand | name=Ayn Rand}}
* [http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/faidfrquery/r?faid/faidfr:@field(SOURCE+@band(rand+ayn)) Rand's papers at The Library of Congress]

===Films===
*{{imdb name | id=0709446 | name=Ayn Rand}}

===Organizations promoting Ayn Rand's philosophy===
* [http://www.aynrand.org/ The Ayn Rand Institute] &amp;mdash; Information on Ayn Rand and her philosophy. Founded by [[Leonard Peikoff]], Ayn Rand’s heir.
* [http://www.capitalismcenter.org/ The Center for the Advancement of Capitalism]
* [http://www.objectivistcenter.org/ The Atlas Society and The Objectivist Center]

===Critical views===
* [http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard23.html The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult] by [[Murray N. Rothbard]]
* [http://www.orthodoxytoday.org/articles2/ChambersAynRand.htm Big Sister is Watching You] by [[Whittaker Chambers]], originally from the [[National Review]]
**[http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?id=4081 A Half-Century-Old Attack on Ayn Rand Reminds Us of the Dark Side of Conservatism] by [[Robert Tracinski]], rebutting Chambers's review
* [http://www.tpe.org.tr/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=102&amp;Itemid=107 The Concerned Novelist] by Alper Ecer, (originally published in the Turkish academic magazine &quot;Liberal Thought&quot; of Association of Liberal Thinking)
*[http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/randt2.htm Professor Sciabarra's investigation into Ayn Rand's ties to N.O. Lossky first transcript]
*[http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/randtransrev.pdf Professor Sciabarra's investigation into Ayn Rand's ties to her Professor N.O. Lossky second transcript]

===Audio and video===
* {{WiredForBooks|leonardpeikoff|1982, 1985 audio interviews with Leonard Peikoff about Ayn Rand|by [[Don Swaim]]}}
*[http://www.americanwriters.org/archives/player/rand.asp 1961 interview with Ayn Rand]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzGFytGBDN8  Ayn Rand Phil Donahue Interview Part 1 of 5 ]
&lt;!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] --&gt;

{{Persondata
|NAME= Rand, Ayn
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Rosenbaum, Alisa Zinov'yevna; Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум (Russian)
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=  novelist, philosopher, playwright, screenwriter 
|DATE OF BIRTH= {{birth date|1905|2|2|mf=y}}
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[St. Petersburg, Russia]]
|DATE OF DEATH= {{death date|1982|3|6|mf=y}}
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[New York City]]
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rand, Ayn}}
[[Category:1905 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:20th century philosophers]]
[[Category:Alumni of St. Petersburg State University]]
[[Category:American atheists]]
[[Category:American anti-communists]]
[[Category:American anti-Vietnam War activists]]
[[Category:American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American essayists]]
[[Category:American novelists]]
[[Category:American political writers]]
[[Category:American philosophers]]
[[Category:American screenwriters]]
[[Category:Atheist thinkers and activists]]
[[Category:Atheist philosophers]]
[[Category:Deaths from cardiovascular disease]]
[[Category:Epistemologists]]
[[Category:Female philosophers]]
[[Category:Moral philosophers]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:Objectivists]]
[[Category:People from Saint Petersburg]]
[[Category:Political philosophers]]
[[Category:Political theorists]]
[[Category:Philosophical writers]]
[[Category:Soviet dissidents]]

{{Link FA|he}}
[[af:Ayn Rand]]
[[bg:Айн Ранд]]
[[da:Ayn Rand]]
[[de:Ayn Rand]]
[[eo:Ayn Rand]]
[[es:Ayn Rand]]
[[fi:Ayn Rand]]
[[fr:Ayn Rand]]
[[gl:Ayn Rand]]
[[he:איין ראנד]]
[[hu:Ayn Rand]]
[[id:Ayn Rand]]
[[is:Ayn Rand]]
[[it:Ayn Rand]]
[[ja:アイン・ランド]]
[[la:Ayn Rand]]
[[mr:आयन रँड]]
[[nl:Ayn Rand]]
[[nn:Ayn Rand]]
[[no:Ayn Rand]]
[[nov:Ayn Rand]]
[[pl:Ayn Rand]]
[[pt:Ayn Rand]]
[[ro:Ayn Rand]]
[[ru:Рэнд, Айн]]
[[simple:Ayn Rand]]
[[sk:Ayn Randová]]
[[sv:Ayn Rand]]
[[tr:Ayn Rand]]
[[vi:Ayn Rand]]
[[zh:艾茵·兰德]]</text>
    </revision>
  </page>
    <page>
    <title>Atlas Shrugged</title>
    <id>568</id>
    <revision>
      <id>182371083</id>
      <timestamp>2008-01-05T20:36:59Z</timestamp>
      <contributor>
        <username>Marlith</username>
        <id>4871029</id>
      </contributor>
      <comment>[[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 182370924 by [[Special:Contributions/Marlith|Marlith]] ([[User talk:Marlith|talk]])</comment>
      <text xml:space="preserve">{{For|the film|Atlas Shrugged (film)}}
{{Original research|article|date=September 2007}}
{{Refimprove|article|date=September 2007}}

{{infobox Book | &lt;!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books --&gt;
| name          = Atlas Shrugged
| image         = [[Image:Atlas shrugged cover.jpg|200px|''Atlas Shrugged'' cover by [[Nick Gaetano]]]]
| image_caption =
| author        = [[Ayn Rand]]
| cover_artist  = [[Nick Gaetano]]
| country       = [[United States]]
| language      = [[English language|English]]
| genre         = [[Philosophical novel]]
| publisher     = [[Random House]]
| release_date  = [[10 October]] [[1957]]
| media_type    = Print ([[Hardcover|Hardback]] &amp; [[Paperback]])
| pages         = 1168 (depending on edition)
| isbn          = ISBN 0-394-41576-0 (hardback edition)
}}
{{Wikibooks|Atlas Shrugged}}
''''' Atlas Shrugged ''''' is a long novel by [[Ayn Rand]], first published in 1957 in the [[United States]]. It was Rand's last work of fiction before concentrating her writings exclusively on philosophy, politics and cultural criticism. At over one thousand pages in length, she considered it her ''[[magnum opus]]''.&lt;ref&gt;Rand, Ayn. ''Journals of Ayn Rand'', edited by David Harriman. (1997) Dutton. ISBN 0525943706 p.704 Harriman quotes from a 1961 interview in which Rand says, &quot;''Atlas Shrugged'' was the climax and completion of the goal I had set for myself at the age of nine. It expressed everything that I wanted of fiction writing.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt; Also, at approximately 645,000 words, ''Atlas Shrugged'' is one of the longest novels ever written.  The book explores a number of philosophical themes that Rand would subsequently develop into the philosophy of [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]].

==Philosophy and writing==
{{POV|date=December 2007}}
The theme of ''Atlas Shrugged'' is the role of the mind in man's existence and, consequently, presentation of the morality of rational self-interest.&lt;ref&gt;Rand, Ayn. ''Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.'' (1986) Signet. ISBN 0451147952 p.150&lt;/ref&gt;

The main conflict of the book occurs as the &quot;individuals of the mind&quot; go on [[Strike action|strike]], refusing to contribute their inventions, art, business leadership, scientific research, or new ideas of any kind to the rest of the world. Society, they believe, hampers them by interfering with their work and underpays them by confiscating the profits and dignity they have rightfully earned. The peaceful cohesiveness of the world requires those individuals whose productive work comes from mental effort. But feeling they have no alternative, they eventually start disappearing from the communities of &quot;looters&quot; and &quot;moochers&quot; who bleed them dry. The strikers believe that they are crucial to a society that exploits them, and the near-total collapse of civilization triggered by their strike shows them to be correct.

Like the Greek [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]], individuals rationally and circumspectly seeking their own long-term happiness believe that they hold the world on their shoulders. The novel's title is an allusion to the Titan, discussing what might happen if those supporting the world suddenly decided to stop doing so. In the novel, the allusion comes during a conversation between two protagonists, [[Francisco d'Anconia]] and [[Hank Rearden]], near the end of part two, chapter three, where Francisco tells Rearden that if he could suggest to Atlas that he do one thing, it would be to shrug.

In the world of ''Atlas Shrugged'', society stagnated when independent productive achievers began to be socially demonized and even punished for their accomplishments, even though society had been far more healthy and prosperous by allowing, encouraging and rewarding self-reliance and individual achievement. Independence and personal happiness flourished to the extent that people were free, and achievement was rewarded to the extent that individual ownership of [[private property]] was strictly respected. The hero, [[John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)|John Galt]], lives a life of [[Laissez-faire|laissez-faire capitalism]] as the only way to live consistent with his beliefs.

''Atlas Shrugged'' is a political book. It portrays [[fascism]], [[socialism]] and [[communism]] &amp;ndash; any form of state intervention in society &amp;ndash; as systemically and fatally flawed. However, Rand claimed that it is not a ''fundamentally'' political book, but that the politics portrayed in the novel are a result of her attempt to display her image of the ideal person and the individual mind's position and value in society.&lt;ref&gt;Peikoff, Leonard. &quot;Introduction to the 35th Anniversary Edition,&quot; in Ayn Rand, ''Atlas Shrugged'' (1996/1957) Signet. ISBN 0-451-19114-5 p. 6-8.&lt;/ref&gt;

Rand argues that independence and individual achievement enable society to survive and thrive, and should be embraced. But this requires a &quot;[[rationality|rational]]&quot; [[moral code]]. She argues that, over time, coerced [[altruism|self-sacrifice]] causes any society to self-destruct.

She is similarly dismissive of faith beyond empirical reason, in a [[divinity|god]] or higher being, or anything else as an authority over one's own mind. The book positions itself against [[religion]] specifically, often directly within the characters' dialogue.

==Setting==
Galt's Gulch was inspired by [[Ouray, Colorado|Ouray]], [[Colorado]].  It was here that Rand found inspiration to complete the novel, though she greatly expanded the small valley to include her many ideas for the story.

Exactly when ''Atlas Shrugged'' is meant to take place is kept deliberately vague. In [[Wikibooks:Structure of Atlas Shrugged|section]] 152, the population of [[New York City]] is given as 7 million. The historical New York City reached 7 million people in the 1930s, which might place the novel sometime after that. There are many early 20th century technologies available, but the political situation is clearly different from actual history. One interpretation is that the novel takes place many years in the future, implying that since the world lapsed into its socialistic morass, a global stagnation has occurred in technological growth, population growth, and indeed growth of ''any'' kind; the wars, economic depressions, and other events of the 20th century would be a distant memory to all but [[scholar]]s and [[academician]]s. This would be in line with Rand's ideas and commentary on other novels depicting utopian and dystopian societies. Furthermore, this is also in line with an excerpt from a 1964 interview with ''[[Playboy]]'' magazine in which Rand states &quot;What we have today is not a [[capitalist]] society, but a [[mixed economy]] &amp;ndash; that is, a mixture of [[Freedom (political)|freedom]] and controls, which, by the presently dominant trend, is moving toward [[dictatorship]]. The action in ''Atlas Shrugged'' takes place at a time when society has reached the stage of dictatorship. When and if this happens, that will be the time to go on strike, but not until then,&quot; thus implying that her novel takes place at some point in the future. The concept of societal stagnation in the wake of collectivist systems is central to the plot of another of Rand's works, ''[[Anthem (novella)|Anthem]]''.

In ''Atlas Shrugged,'' all countries outside the US have become, or become during the novel, &quot;People's States&quot;. There are many examples of early 20th century [[Technology in Atlas Shrugged|technology]] in ''Atlas Shrugged'', but no post-war advances such as [[nuclear weapon]]s, [[helicopter]]s, or [[computer]]s. [[Jet plane]]s are mentioned briefly as being a relatively new technology. [[Television]] is a novelty that has yet to assume any cultural significance, while [[radio]] broadcasts are prominent (in fact, television only makes its first appearance later on in the book, reflecting the fact that television appeared in the fifties, i.e., during the ten years it took to write the book). Although Rand does not use many of the technological innovations available while she was writing in the book, she introduces some advanced, fictional inventions (e.g., [[Sonic weaponry|sonic-based weapons]] [[weapons of mass destruction|of mass destruction]], torture devices, as well as power plants and a highly advanced strong steel alloy).

Most of the action in ''Atlas Shrugged'' occurs in the [[wikibooks:Transwiki:Places in Atlas Shrugged|United States]]. However, there are important events around the world, such as in the People's States of [[Mexico]], [[Chile]], and [[Argentina]], and [[piracy]] at sea.

==Plot==
The novel's plot is split into three parts. The first two parts, and to some extent the last, follow [[Dagny Taggart]], a no-nonsense railroad executive, and her attempt to keep the company alive despite repeated encroachments by a society moving toward [[collectivism]], [[altruism]], and [[statism]]. Throughout the novel people repeat a platitude Dagny greatly resents: &quot;Who is John Galt?&quot; It is a reflection of their helplessness, as the saying means &quot;Don't ask important questions, because we don't have answers.&quot;

The leaders and innovators of industry in the world seem to be disappearing, and the apparent decline of civilization is making it more and more difficult for her to sustain her life-long aspirations of running the trans-continental railroad, which has been in her family for several generations.  She deals with other characters who often personify archetypes of what Rand considers the various schools of philosophy for living and working in the world (though they are in most cases often unconscious of it).

Some of these are: Hank Rearden, a self-made businessman of great integrity whose career is hindered by his feelings of obligation toward his wife. Francisco d'Anconia, Dagny's childhood friend, first love, and king of the copper industry, appears to have become a worthless playboy who is purposely destroying his business. Dagny's brother, president of the railroad, who seems peripherally aware of the troubles facing the company and the country in general, but who almost always makes the most short term and ultimately self-destructive choice.

As the novel progresses, the myths about the real John Galt, as well as Francisco d'Anconia's actions, increasingly become a reflection of the state of the culture and seem to make more and more sense. Hank and Dagny begin to experience the futility of their attempts to survive in a society that hates them and those like them for their greatness.

Dagny and Hank find the remnants of a motor that turns [[atmospheric electricity|atmospheric static electricity]] into [[kinetic energy]], an astounding feat; they also find evidence that the minds (the &quot;Atlases&quot;) of the world are disappearing because of one particular &quot;destroyer&quot; taking them away. Dagny and Hank deal with the irrationalities and apparent contradictions of their atmosphere, and search for the creator of the motor as well as &quot;the destroyer&quot; who is draining the world of its prime movers, in an effort to secure their ability to live rational lives.

The question &quot;Who is John Galt?&quot; is also answered towards the closing of the novel — John Galt is a man disgusted that non-productive members of society use laws and guilt to leech from the value created by productive members of society, and furthermore even exalt the qualities of the leeches over the workers and inventors. He made a pledge that he would never live his life for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for him, and founded an enclave, separate from the rest of the country, where he and other productive members of society have fled.

===Galt's speech===
John Galt's speech is the core of ''Atlas Shrugged''.  In it, Galt explains the philosophy of [[Objectivism (Ayn Rand)|Objectivism]].  The speech encompasses [[metaphysics|metaphysical]], [[epistemology|epistemological]], [[ethics|ethical]], and [[politics|political]] ideas.

The speech is very long, spanning 56 pages in one paperback edition (the only interruption occurs after the first paragraph), and appears in the chapter &quot;This is John Galt Speaking&quot; in the third section of the book.&lt;ref name=Rand&gt;Atlas Shrugged, Centennial Edition, Signet, 1992.&lt;/ref&gt;

==Characters==
{{main|Characters in Atlas Shrugged}}
Protagonists:
*Dagny Taggart - Operating Vice President of Taggart Transcontinental
*Hank Rearden - Owner of Rearden Steel
*John Galt
*Francisco d'Anconia - Owner of d'Anconia Copper

==Social concepts==
===Looters and moochers===
Rand's heroes must continually fight against the &quot;looters&quot; and &quot;moochers&quot; of the society surrounding them.

The looters are those who confiscate others' earnings &quot;at the point of a gun&quot; (figuratively speaking) &amp;mdash;often because they are government officials, and thus their demands are backed by the threat of force.  Some looters are following the policies of the government, such as the officials who confiscate one state's [[Seed saving|seed grain]] to feed the starving citizens of another state; others are exploiting those policies, such as the railroad regulator who illegally sells the railroad's supplies on the side.  The common factor is that both use force to take property from the people who produced or earned it, and both are ultimately destructive.

The moochers are those who demand others' earnings because they claim to be needy and unable to earn themselves.  Even as they beg for their help, however, they curse the people who make that help possible, because they hate the talented for having the talent they don't possess.  Although the moochers seem benign at first glance, they are portrayed as more destructive than the looters&amp;mdash;they destroy the productive through guilt and often motivate the legal looting performed by governments.

Looting and mooching are seen at all levels of the world ''Atlas Shrugged'' portrays, from the looting officials Dagny Taggart must work around and the mooching brother Hank Rearden struggles with, to the looting of whole industries by companies like Associated Steel and the mooching demands for [[foreign aid]] by the starving countries of Europe.

===Sanction of the victim===
The ''Sanction of the victim'' is defined as &quot;the willingness of the good to suffer at the hands of the [[evil]], to accept the role of sacrificial victim for the '[[sin]]' of creating values.&quot;

The entire story of ''Atlas Shrugged'' can be seen as an answer to the question, what would happen if this sanction were revoked? When Atlas shrugs, relieving himself of the burden of carrying the world, he is revoking his sanction.

The concept may be original in the thinking of Ayn Rand and is foundational to her moral theory. She holds that evil is a parasite on the good and can only exist if the good tolerates it. To quote from Galt's Speech: &quot;Evil is impotent and has no power but that which we let it extort from us,&quot;{{Fact|date=August 2007}} and, &quot;I saw that evil was impotent...and the only weapon of its triumph was the willingness of the good to serve it.&quot;{{Fact|date=August 2007}} Morality requires that we do not sanction our own victimhood, Rand claims. In adhering to this concept, Rand assigns virtue to the trait of [[rational selfishness]]. However, Rand contends that moral selfishness does not mean a license to do whatever one pleases, guided by whims. It means the exacting discipline of defining and pursuing one's rational self-interest. A code of rational self-interest rejects every form of human sacrifice, whether of oneself to others or of others to oneself.

Throughout ''Atlas Shrugged,'' numerous characters admit that there is something wrong with the world but they cannot put their finger on what it is. The concept they cannot grasp is the sanction of the victim. The first person to grasp the concept is [[John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)|John Galt]], who vows to stop the motor of the world by getting the creators of the world to withhold their sanction.

We first glimpse the concept in [[Structure of Atlas Shrugged|section]] 121 when [[Hank Rearden]] feels he is duty-bound to support his family, despite their hostility towards him.

In [[Structure of Atlas Shrugged|section]] 146 the principle is stated explicitly by [[Dan Conway]]: &quot;I suppose somebody's got to be sacrificed. If it turned out to be me, I have no right to complain.&quot;{{Fact|date=August 2007}}

===Social classes===
''Atlas Shrugged'' endorses the belief that a society's best hope rests on its adopting a system of pure [[laissez-faire]]. John Galt says,&quot;The political system we will build is contained in a single moral premise: no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force,&quot; and claims, &quot;no rights can exist without the right to translate one’s rights into reality—to think, to work and to keep the results—which means: the right of property.&quot; The characters are assessed negatively or positively based their productive effort, respect for rights, intellectual honesty, and moral integrity, and this does not necessarily reflect their class backgrounds. Different social classes are represented among both the heroes and the villains of ''Atlas Shrugged''. Among the heroes, [[John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)|John Galt]] and Hank Rearden are from working class backgrounds, while Dagny Taggart and Francisco d'Anconia are from wealthy families. Among the villains, [[Fred Kinnan]] is from a working class background, while James Taggart and Betty Pope are from wealthy families.

Compare: [[Aristocracy]]

===Theory of sex ===&lt;!-- This section is linked from [[Characters in Atlas Shrugged]] --&gt;
In rejecting the traditional [[altruism|altruistic]] [[moral code]], Rand also rejects the sexual code that, in her view, is the [[logical implication]] of altruism.

Rand introduces a theory of [[coitus|sex]] in ''Atlas Shrugged'' that is based in her broader ethical and psychological theories. Far from being a debasing animal [[instinct]], sex to Rand is the highest celebration of human [[Value (personal and cultural)|value]]s, a physical response to intellectual and spiritual values that gives concrete expression to what could otherwise only be experienced in the abstract.

In ''Atlas Shrugged'', characters are sexually attracted to those who embody or seem to embody their values, be they higher or lower values by Rand's standards. Characters who lack clear purpose find sex devoid of meaning. This is illustrated in the contrasting relationships of [[Hank Rearden]] with [[Lillian Rearden]] and [[Dagny Taggart]], by the relationships of [[Characters in Atlas Shrugged#James Taggart|James Taggart]] with [[Characters in Atlas Shrugged#Cherryl Brooks|Cherryl Brooks]] and later with Lillian Rearden, and finally in the relationship between Dagny and [[John Galt (Atlas Shrugged)|John Galt]].

Illustrations of this theory are found in:
* [[Wikibooks:Synopsis of Atlas Shrugged, Chapters 1-5#CHAPTER FIVE: THE CLIMAX OF THE D.27ANCONIAS|Section 152]] &amp;ndash; recounts Dagny's relationship with [[Francisco d'Anconia]].
* [[Wikibooks:Synopsis of Atlas Shrugged, Chapters 6-10#CHAPTER SIX: THE NON-COMMERCIAL|Section 161]] &amp;ndash; recounts Hank and Lillian Rearden's courtship, and Lillian's attitude towards sex.
* [[Wikibooks:Synopsis of Atlas Shrugged, Section2#CHAPTER THREE: White Blackmail|Section 231]] &amp;ndash; recounts the value for value basis of Dagny's seemingly unconditional love for Rearden

==Companies==
===Looter companies vs John Galt's Movement===
The companies in ''Atlas Shrugged'' are generally divided into two groups: those that are operated by hard working characters who join in John Galt's Movement and those owned by looters and moochers. The first group are usually given the name of the owner, while companies operated by antagonist characters are given names like United Steel.

For example, Hank Rearden's companies are all named after him; Wyatt Oil after Ellis Wyatt; and Taggart Transcontinental and d'Anconia Copper are named after their founders (and, being family-held, their present owners). Nielsen Motors, Hammond Cars and Ayers Music Publishing are also presented as competent. Those who use their own names to name their companies become [[Characters in Atlas Shrugged|Strikers]], with the minor exception of Mr. Ayers of the Ayers Music Publishing Company.

On the other hand, Orren Boyle named his government-dependent, influence-peddling company Associated Steel. Another company in the novel is the Amalgamated Switch and Signal Company, Inc. The exceptions here are the Phoenix Durango Railroad, which was run by a competent entrepreneur who becomes a Striker in his own way without joining the actual Strikers in [[Galt's Gulch]], and the Twentieth Century Motor Company, originally run by Jed Starnes. The mismanagement of the Twentieth Century in the hands of Starnes' heirs first seeds the thoughts of a strike in John Galt's mind.

===Comparison with real-life railways===
[[James Jerome Hill]] (1838– 1916) was known as the '''Empire Builder''' and built the [[Great Northern Railway]] that is in many ways similar to [[Taggart Transcontinental]].

It is commonly noted that in actuality there had never been a US railway company as the one described in the book, maintaining tracks of its own all the way from the [[Atlantic]] to the [[Pacific]]. Rather, in the United States, the term ''[[transcontinental railroad]]'' usually refers to a line over the [[Rocky Mountains]] between the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] and Pacific Ocean, and such companies tend to have the area of the [[Mississippi River]] as a transfer point with other companies active in the [[Eastern United States|East]].

===Comparison with real life railway industry===
Taggart Transcontinental in the later part of the book is driven to act in this manner and rely on other companies for the western part of its traffic; that is, however, an emergency measure which is part of the gradual collapse of the company (and the entire world) and Dagny is far from pleased with the need to resort to it.

By 1957, the date of the book's publication, railways in the USA were facing a decline that had begun in the 1920s. Passengers were increasingly switching to road transport.  [[Aviation|Air transport]] was also growing quickly.{{Fact|date=September 2007}} (For details, see [[Amtrak]]; Passenger rail service before Amtrak.) Railroads are still the most efficient type of transportation through land.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}

==Fictional technology==
Because the book centers on industrial capitalism, Ayn Rand mentions many technologies throughout the book. In addition to normal technologies, she introduces several fictional inventions, including refractor rays (Gulch mirage), Rearden Metal, a sonic [[death ray]] (&quot;Project X&quot;), motors powered by [[static electricity]], and a sophisticated electrical [[torture]] device.

===Rearden metal===
Rearden metal is a fictitious metal alloy invented by [[Hank Rearden]]. It is lighter than traditional [[steel]] but stronger, and is to steel what steel was to [[iron]]. It is described as greenish-blue. Among its ingredients are iron and [[copper]], two metals seldom found together in real-world [[alloy]]s.

Initially, no one is willing to use Rearden metal because no one wants to stick his neck out and be the first to try it. [[Dagny Taggart]] places an order for Rearden metal when she needs rails to rebuild the dying Rio Norte Line. Once the metal is proven, the &quot;looters&quot; seek both to place it on the market for everyone, and also to deny it to the industrialists who would make the most profitable use of it. Later, the formula for the metal itself is extorted from Rearden and dubbed &quot;Miracle Metal.&quot;

===Project X===
Project X, a.k.a. Project [[Xylophone]], is an invention of the scientists at the State Science Institute, requiring tons of Rearden metal. It is a sonic weapon, capable of destroying everything in a 300-mile radius. The scientists claim that the project will be used to preserve peace and quash rebellion. The mechanism is destroyed towards the end of the book, and emits a sonic pulse that destroys everything in the surrounding area, including Cuffy Meigs and Dr. Stadler, as well as the Taggart Bridge.

===Galt's motor===
John Galt invented a new type of electrical apparatus described in the book as a [[Electric motor|motor]].  This motor is revolutionary because it uses static electricity from the atmosphere as its main source of energy, requiring only a small amount of conventional fuel to run the conversion mechanism. This approximates a [[perpetual motion]] machine of the second kind, a machine which spontaneously converts thermal energy into mechanical work (versus conventional [[heat engine]]s, which convert thermal energy into mechanical work by transferring thermal energy from one reservoir to another). The theory is that the power is drawn from the environment (possibly approximating the [[Casimir effect]], though that was extremely obscure and scientifically controversial at the time Atlas Shrugged was written).

The book gives the source as [[static electricity]] from the air, and suggests that a new physics was necessary to tap it.  Additionally, the motor could be seen as a metaphor for a person who, like Reardon and Dagny, has the ability to convert dispersed energy and resources into useful materials.{{fact|date=December 2007}}

Dagny discovers a discarded prototype of the motor, and it is superficially described in [[Structure of Atlas Shrugged|section]] Part 1, Chapter 9.  In Part 3, Chapter 1, Dagny learns that Galt is using a working version of the motor to generate electricity for Galt's Gulch.

===Project F===
A torture device invented by Dr. Floyd Ferris is introduced towards the end where John Galt is tortured. It consists of having the victim tied to a mattress with [[electrode]]s attached to the wrists, the ankles and the hips. Electricity is passed in various combinations (wrist-to-wrist, ankle-to-hip) to inflict pain on the victim. The electricity amount being passed through the victim is so calculated to cause maximum pain without inflicting any permanent physical damage to the victim. It is located in the Science Institute.

===Other===
Rand also mentioned technologies that were unavailable at the time, but which have since been invented.  Examples are [[Voice command device|voice activated]] door locks (Gulch power station), [[Fingerprint authentication|palm-activated]] door locks (Galt's NY lab), and [[Oil shale#Extraction|shale-oil drilling]].

==Reception==
{{Refimprove|section|date=October 2007}}
{{POV-section|date=October 2007}}
''Atlas Shrugged'' was generally disliked by critics, despite being a popular success.

===Early Reception===
It was reviewed shortly after its publication in 1957 by many major newspapers and magazines. The initial reviews were largely negative, criticizing both the book's literary qualities and its political vision.&lt;ref&gt;See http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/books/rand/atlas/, retrieved [[August 9]] [[2006]], for a list of reviews and bibliographical information.&lt;/ref&gt;

===Criticism===
In the conservative magazine the ''[[National Review]]'', [[Whittaker Chambers]] wrote a critical review of the ''Atlas Shrugged'', in which he argues against, among other things, the novel's implicit endorsement of [[atheism]] whereby &quot;Randian man, like [[Marx]]ian man is made the center of a godless world.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Chambers, Whittaker. &quot;[http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp Big Sister Is Watching You].&quot; ''[[National Review]]''. [[December 28]], [[1957]].&lt;/ref&gt;

Former Ayn Rand associate [[Nathaniel Branden]] argues that ''Atlas Shrugged'' &quot;encourages emotional repression and self-disowning&quot; and that it, along with Rand's other major Objectivist novel, ''The Fountainhead'', contains contradictory messages. Though he notes that the book shows that Rand understood the human need for social interaction, Branden claims that &quot;rarely you find the heroes and heroine talking to each other on a simple, human level without launching into philosophical sermons,&quot; which he believes is used to increase the reader's self-alienation. He further questions the psychological impact of the novel, stating that John Galt's claim that contempt and moral condemnation are appropriate responses to wrongdoing clashes with the recommendations of psychologists, who say that this kind of behavior only causes the wrongdoing to repeat itself.&lt;ref&gt;Branden, Nathaniel. &quot;[http://rous.redbarn.org/objectivism/Writing/NathanielBranden/BenefitsAndHazards.html The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand: A Personal Statement]&quot;. 1984.&lt;/ref&gt;

===Praise===
On the other hand, Howard Dickman of ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' wrote that the novel had &quot;turned millions of readers on to the ideas of liberty&quot; and said that the book had the important message of the readers' &quot;profound right to be happy.&quot;

The [[libertarian]] [[Cato Institute]] held a joint conference with [[The Atlas Society]], an Objectivist organization, to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the publication of ''Atlas Shrugged''.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;[http://www.cato.org/pubs/policy_report/cpr-19n6-3.html Cato Events: Hundreds Gather to Celebrate Atlas Shrugged]&quot;. ''Cato Policy Report''. November/December 1997.&lt;/ref&gt;

Conservative [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court]] [[Clarence Thomas]] cites ''Atlas Shrugged'' as among his favorite novels,&lt;ref&gt;Bidinotto, Robert James. &quot;[http://www.atlassociety.org/rb_celebrity_ayn_rand_fans_clarence_thomas.asp Celebrity 'Rand Fans' &amp;ndash; Clarence Thomas]&quot;. Retrieved [[May 26]] [[2006]].&lt;/ref&gt; as does neolibertarian [[Larry Elder]].&lt;ref&gt;[http://larryelder.com/reading.html Larry Elder Recommended Books], Larry Elder.com, Retrieved [[June 13]] [[2007]]&lt;/ref&gt;

In an article titled &quot;Celebrity Rand Fans&quot; in the Objectivist magazine ''The New Individualist'', Robert James Bidinotto traces the novel's growing influence among major Hollywood stars, sports champions, and public figures.&lt;ref name=&quot;fans&quot;&gt;[http://www.objectivistcenter.org/ct-1697-CelebRandFans.aspx Celebrity Rand Fans], ''The New Individualist'', Retrieved [[June 13]] [[2007]]&lt;/ref&gt;

Chip Mellor of the libertarian [[Institute for Justice]] writes that &quot;whether they have adopted her philosophy wholeheartedly or found her writings of more transitory interest, countless individuals working to secure liberty have found inspiration in the works of Ayn Rand. With her unique ability to depict heroism, idealism, and romance behind the creativity of the individual, Rand inspires readers to come to the defense of free minds and free markets.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;[http://www.ij.org/publications/liberty/2006/15_3_06_d.html Thinkers of Freedom and IJ], Institute for Justice, Retrieved [[June 13]] [[2007]]&lt;/ref&gt;

In a three-month online poll&lt;ref&gt;Subject of article: Headlam, Bruce. &quot;[http://tech2.nytimes.com/mem/technology/techreview.html?_r=1&amp;res=9B01E5DC1738F933A05754C0A96E958260&amp;oref=login Forget Joyce; Bring on Ayn Rand].&quot; ''The New York Times'' [[July 30]] [[1998]], G4 (Late Edition, East Coast).&lt;/ref&gt;&lt;ref&gt;Subject of article: Yardley, Jonathan. &quot;The Voice of the People Speaks. Too Bad It Doesn't Have Much to Say.&quot; ''The Washington Post'' [[August 10]] [[1998]], D2 (Final Edition). Retrieved from ProQuest Historical Newspapers.&lt;/ref&gt; of reader selections of the hundred best novels of the twentieth century, administered by publisher [[Modern Library]], ''Atlas Shrugged'' was voted number one, ahead of ''[[The Fountainhead]]'', ''[[Battlefield Earth (novel)|Battlefield Earth]]'', and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', while the list chosen by the Modern Library panel of authors and scholars contains no works by Rand.&lt;ref&gt;&quot;[http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html 100 Best Novels]&quot;. ''RandomHouse.com''. Retrieved [[June 20]] [[2006]].&lt;/ref&gt; The Modern Library's lists, particularly the reader selections, however, have come under heavy scrutiny as so unscientific as to be highly dubious in their representation of actual opinion (see [[Modern Library]]).  Because ''Battlefield Earth'' and two other books by [[science fiction]] writer and [[Scientology]] founder [[L. Ron Hubbard]] were in the top ten, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist [[Ray Jenkins]] compares Rand's popularity to that of Hubbard, calling her &quot;a goddess of a great American cult.&quot;&lt;ref&gt;Jenkins, Ray. &quot;Ayn Rand after a century: Who was she &amp;ndash; and why?&quot; ''[[Baltimore Sun]]'' [[February 16]], [[2003]]. Retrieved from http://www.rickross.com/reference/general/general531.html.&lt;/ref&gt; He goes on to point out that her works were &quot;ignored or deplored by the critics of the day.&quot;

Literary critic [[Harold Bloom]] included her in a critical anthology he edited, ''American Women Fiction Writers, 1900-1960, Vol. Three'', (Chelsea House, 1998). The [[C-SPAN]] television series ''American Writers'' listed Rand as one of twenty-two surveyed figures of American literature, though primarily mentioning ''The Fountainhead'' rather than ''Atlas Shrugged''.&lt;ref&gt;[http://www.americanwriters.org/writers/rand.asp C-SPAN American Writers: Ayn Rand]&lt;/ref&gt;

==Film adaptation==
{{main article|Atlas Shrugged (film)}}

[[Film rights]] to the novel ''Atlas Shrugged'' were purchased by the Baldwin Entertainment Group in 2003. [[Lions Gate Entertainment]] has picked up worldwide distribution rights and screenwriter [[Randall Wallace]] has created a 127-page screenplay from the novel.&lt;ref&gt;Fleming, Michael. &quot;[http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117971319.html?categoryid=13&amp;cs=1 Vadim Perelman to direct 'Atlas']&quot;. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. [[September 4]] [[2007]] &lt;/ref&gt; [[Angelina Jolie]] has been confirmed to play the role of Dagny Taggart&lt;ref&gt;McClintock, Pamela. &quot;[http://www.variety.com/VR1117950446.html Jolie shoulders 'Atlas' : Thesp slated for Rand adaptation]&quot;. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. [[September 21]] [[2006]]&lt;/ref&gt; and [[Brad Pitt]] is rumored to be cast as John Galt.&lt;ref&gt;McClintock, Pamela. &quot;[http://www.variety.com/VR1117942127.html Lionsgate shrugging: 'Atlas' pic mapped]&quot;. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''. [[April 26]] [[2006]]&lt;/ref&gt; Both are fans of Rand's works.&lt;ref name=&quot;fans&quot;/&gt;
According to [[IMDb]], as of [[September 5]] [[2007]], the ''Atlas Shrugged'' project is &quot;Back in development.&quot; &lt;ref&gt;[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/ Atlas Shrugged] at [[IMDb]].&lt;/ref&gt; Lionsgate has hired director [[Vadim Perelman]] to direct the film. [http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7008433844]

==In popular culture==
Ayn Rand's book influence has led it to be referenced in various ways.

===Significant homages===
Where a work has been in large part been influenced by Atlas Shrugged:

&quot;The Moon is a Harsh Mistress&quot; by Robert A. Heinlein&lt;ref&gt; Another well-known science fiction writer, [[Robert A. Heinlein]], pays Rand's book an explicit tribute in his ''[[The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress]]'' - like the above Anderson book, dealing with a rebellion of space colonists (on the Moon in this case). In one passage of the book the rebels describe their leader, the sentient computer &quot;Mike&quot;, as &quot;Our John Galt.&quot; &lt;/ref&gt;

The video game [[BioShock]] pays many homages to Atlas Shrugged; the most obvious of which is the idea that intellectuals should be separated from society in order to free them from people who would inhibit their work. The game takes place in an underwater city called Rapture, where some of the smartest people on Earth moved to in order to live where (As the creator of Rapture, Andrew Ryan, stated) &quot;The scientists would not be bound by petty moralities.&quot; One of the characters' names, Atlas, is a reference to the title of the book.

===Side References===
Atlas Shrugged has been referenced in Futurama,
&lt;ref&gt; In the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode &quot;[[I Second That Emotion (Futurama)|I Second That Emotion]]&quot;, the 'library' in the mutants' village is a lone bookshelf stocking literary items  flushed down toilets from above. When [[Bender]] takes a look on it, he finds ''Atlas Shrugged'' and says &quot;Nothing but crumpled porno and Ayn Rand.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt;
South Park,
&lt;ref&gt; In the ''[[South Park]]'' episode &quot;[[Chicken Lover]]&quot;, [[Officer Barbrady]] reads ''Atlas Shrugged'' after overcoming his illiteracy. He later states to the town that he &quot;read every last word of this piece of garbage&quot; and because he did so &quot;will never read anything ever again.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt;
[[X-Factor (comics)|X-Factor]],
&lt;ref&gt; In the [[Marvel comic]] book ''[[X-Factor (comics)|X-Factor]]'', the mysterious, [[precognition|precognitive]] teenage character [[Layla Miller]] is seen reading ''Atlas Shrugged'', which makes the other characters slightly uneasy.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[Beverly Hills 90210]],
&lt;ref&gt; In an episode of ''[[Beverly Hills 90210]]'', [[Kelly Taylor (90210)|Kelly Taylor]] can be seen reading a hard-cover version of ''Atlas Shrugged'', with the camera resting on the book for a lengthy period of time before moving off.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[Undeclared]],
&lt;ref&gt; In ''[[Undeclared]]'' episode &quot;[[Addicts (Undeclared episode)|Addicts]]&quot;, several of the main characters write a report on the novel. One of them declares it &quot;not bad.&quot;&lt;/ref&gt;
works by [[Sean D'Anconia]],
&lt;ref&gt; Fashion designer and visual artist Sean D'Anconia often slips in hidden references to ''Atlas Shrugged''{{Fact|date=November 2007}} in his designs and avante-guard advertisements, appearing regularly in ''[[Flaunt]]'' and ''YRB Magazine''. [http://majestysecret.com/galt_john.jpg  Flaunt Magazine Ad]&lt;/ref&gt;
in [[Mr. Murder]],
&lt;ref&gt;In the [[Dean Koontz]] novel ''[[Mr. Murder]]'', two characters take on assumed names John and Ann Gault in order to hide from an evil secret government agency.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[Zits]],
&lt;ref&gt;In the newspaper cartoon ''[[Zits]]'', Jeremy's friend Pierce declares ''Atlas Shrugged'' to be his favorite novel because it is thick enough to use as a pillow in the school library.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[The Simpsons]],
&lt;ref&gt; In an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'' called &quot;[[A Streetcar Named Marge]]&quot;, [[Maggie Simpson|Maggie]] attends the Ayn Rand School for Tots. A poster on the wall reads &quot;A is A,&quot; the title of Part Three of ''Atlas Shrugged''.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[BioShock]],
&lt;ref&gt; The video game ''[[BioShock]]'' is influenced by the works of Ayn Rand and ''Atlas Shrugged'' in particular. A character's name Andrew Ryan is a play on Ayn Rand.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[One Tree Hill (TV series)|One Tree Hill]],
&lt;ref&gt; In the second episode of ''[[One Tree Hill (TV series)|One Tree Hill]]'', [[Lucas Scott]] is given a copy of ''Atlas Shrugged'' by fellow teammate [[Jake Jagielski]]. &lt;/ref&gt;
[[Sewer, Gas and Electric]],
&lt;ref&gt; The book ''Sewer, Gas and Electric'' by [[Matt Ruff]] is a science fiction book largely critical of Ayn Rand and many specific concepts in ''Atlas Shrugged''.  &lt;/ref&gt;
[[Mad Men]],
&lt;ref&gt;Episode of [[Mad Men]] on AMC. The senior partner of the ad agency where the show is set tells his protege, Don Draper, that he is motivated by &quot;rational self interest&quot; and the two are alike in that regard.  The boss points to the book &quot;Atlas Shrugged&quot; on his credenza and recommends it to Draper, then gives him a huge bonus, which leaves Draper, and possibly the viewer, somewhat puzzled.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[A Scanner Darkly (film)|A Scanner Darkly]],
&lt;ref&gt;In the film adaptation of Philip K Dick's &quot;A Scanner Darkly&quot;, character Charles Freck can be seen reading the novel.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[The Illuminatus! Trilogy]] and the
&lt;ref&gt;[[The Illuminatus! Trilogy]] by [[Robert Shea]] and [[Robert Anton Wilson]] mentions Ayn Rand several times and refers a lot to ''Telemachus Sneezed'', a spoof of the work by character Atlanta Hope.&lt;/ref&gt;
[[The Colbert Report]]
&lt;ref&gt;In the [[October 31]] [[2007]], episode of [[The Colbert Report]], Stephen suggested that instead of giving children free candy on Halloween, they should receive things such as bootstraps (to pull themselves up by), and a copy of ''Atlas Shrugged'' because &quot;who would want a fun-size Snickers, when they could have the gift of rational self-interest as embodied by maverick railroad executive Dagny Taggart?&quot;&lt;/ref&gt;

==See also==
* [[James Clavell]]
* [[Laissez-faire capitalism]]
* [[Dystopia]]
* [[Transcontinental railroad]]
* [[Austrian School]]

==Footnotes==
&lt;div class=&quot;references-small&quot;&gt;&lt;references /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

==Further reading==
===Publications===
* ''Atlas Shrugged'', Ayn Rand; Signet; (September 1996) ISBN 0-451-19114-5
* ''Atlas Shrugged (Cliffs Notes)'', Andrew Bernstein; [[CliffsNotes]]; ([[June 5]], [[2000]]) ISBN 0-7645-8556-8
* ''The World of Atlas Shrugged'', Robert Bidinotto/The Objectivist Center; HighBridge Company; ([[April 19]], [[2001]]) ISBN 1-56511-471-X
* ''Atlas Shrugged: Manifesto of the Mind (Twayne's Masterwork Studies, No. 174)'' Mimi Reisel Gladstein; Twayne Pub; (June 2000) ISBN 0-8057-1638-6
* ''The Moral Revolution in Atlas Shrugged'', [[Nathaniel Branden]]; The Objectivist Center; (July 1999) ISBN 1-57724-033-2
* ''Odysseus, Jesus, and Dagny'', Susan McCloskey; The Objectivist Center; ([[August 1]], [[1998]]) ISBN 1-57724-025-1

===Foreign language translations===
* [[Dutch language|Dutch]]: ''Atlas in Staking'', published by the &quot;De Boekenmaker&quot;, www.boekenmaker.nl, tel: +31-75-61471772 (Krommenie, 2006).
* [[French language|French]]: ''La révolte d'Atlas'', 2 vol. (Paris 1958 et 1959, Editions Jeheber)
* [[German language|German]]: ''Wer ist John Galt?'' (Hamburg, Germany: GEWIS Verlag), ISBN 3-932564-03-0.
* [[Italian language|Italian]]: ''La rivolta di Atlante'', 2 vol. (Milano, Garzanti, 1958), Out of print. Translator: Laura Grimaldi
* [[Japanese language|Japanese]]: ''肩をすくめるアトラス'' 　(ビジネス社), ISBN 4-8284-1149-6. Translator: 脇坂 あゆみ.
* [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]: ''De som beveger verden''. (Kagge Forlag, 2000), ISBN 82-489-0083-5 (hardcover), ISBN 82-489-0169-6 (paperback). Translator: John Erik Bøe Lindgren.
* [[Polish language|Polish]]: ''Atlas Zbuntowany'' (Zysk i S-ka, 2004), ISBN 83-7150-969-3 (hardcover). Translator: Iwona Michałowska.
* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''Quem é John Galt?'' (Editora Expressão e Cultura), ISBN 85-208-0248-6 (paperback). Translator: Paulo Henriques Britto.
* [[Russian language|Russian]]: ''Атлант расправил плечи'' (Издательство Альпина Бизнес Букс, 2007 г.), ISBN 978-5-9614-0603-0. Translator: Ю.Соколов, В.Вебер, Д.Вознякевич.

* [[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''La rebelión de Atlas.'' (Editorial Grito Sagrado), ISBN 987-20951-0-8 (hardcover), ISBN 987-20951-1-6 (paperback).
* [[Swedish language|Swedish]]: ''Och världen skälvde.'' ([http://www.timbro.se/rand/ Timbro Förlag], 2005), ISBN 91-7566-556-5. Translator: Maud Freccero.
* [[Turkish language|Turkish]]: ''Atlas Vazgeçti.'' (Plato Yayınları, 2003), ISBN 975-96772-6-1. Translator: Belkıs Çorapçı.

==External links==
* [http://aynrandnovels.com/ Website dedicated to Ayn Rand's novels]
* [http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-22-1710-AtlasShruggedTimeline.aspx Timeline of major events in the novel]
* [http://www.objectivistcenter.org/cth-22-1708-AtlasShruggedCastOfCharacters.aspx Cast of characters in the novel]
* [http://www.aynrand.org Excerpt from ''Atlas Shrugged''] at the [[Ayn Rand Institute|ARI]]

===Reviews===
* [http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp A negative review] from the [[December 28]], [[1957]] issue of ''[[National Review]]'' by [[Whittaker Chambers]].


{{AynRand}}

[[Category:Atlas Shrugged| ]]
[[Category:1957 novels]]
[[Category:American novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Ayn Rand]]
[[Category:Philosophical novels]]
[[Category:Dystopian novels]]
[[Category:Capitalist books]]
[[Category:Economics books]]
[[Category:Books critical of religion]]
[[Category:Fictional technology]]

[[de:Atlas wirft die Welt ab]]
[[es:La rebelión de Atlas]]
[[fr:La Révolte d'Atlas]]
[[he:מרד הנפילים]]
[[la:Atlas Shrugged]]
[[no:De som beveger verden]]
[[simple:Atlas Shrugged]]
[[sv:Och världen skälvde]]
[[zh:阿特拉斯摆脱重负]]</text>
    </revision>
  </page>
</mediawiki>