Ayn Rand and business

“To live man must hold three things as the supreme and ruling values of his life: reason, purpose and self-esteem.” - Ayn Rand

Born 105 years ago, Ayn Rand's thinking is experiencing a major revival. The Washington Post declared Randoids 'in' for 2010; Hollywood is remaking her movies; and Rand book sales are brisk. Yaron Brook, president of the Ayn Rand Institute, says sales of Atlas Shrugged are “going through the roof”. Rand's magnum opus made it into Amazon.com's top 50, selling more than 500 000 copies in 2009.

“The explosion in sales of Atlas Shrugged more than a half century after its initial publication is truly remarkable,” says Brook. “People are discovering the prescience of Ayn Rand's writing. They're seeing the policies of Atlas Shrugged villains Wesley Mouch and Cuffy Meigs acted out by our government officials today. They're looking for answers on how to stop government intrusion in our lives. Atlas Shrugged provides those answers, and many more.”

Rand's thoughts have never been more relevant given the global market collapse, followed by government rescue plans and other attempts at controlling markets. Laissez-fairecapitalism was always Rand's ideal political-economic system. “It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit,” said Rand. “It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man's rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.”

Rand's personal journey was nothing short of astonishing, and saw her transform from a shopkeeper's daughter in communist Russia to one of the world's leading proponents of laissez-faire capitalism. In their book Ayn Rand and Business, Donna Greiner and Theodore Kinni interpret the fiction and philosophy of this staunch and radical champion for capitalism. Not only do Greiner and Kinni clearly explain the fundamentals of Objectivism, they describe how business leaders can integrate these philosophies into their personal lives and industry. Written in the spirit of Rand's own perspective, this business book is anchored in practicality, well organised and goal-oriented.

“The degree to which people exercise their mental abilities determines how much they achieve, how successful they become, and how well they will live their lives.” - Ayn Rand.

Origins of Objectivism
Objectivism was developed in the writings of Ayn Rand, who expressed her philosophy through novels like her well known The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Rand saw the study of philosophy as a quest to identify the essential beliefs needed for life. Her core principles concern concepts like rationalism, purpose, the virtues of freedom, individualism, independence and capitalism. Since 1936, her books have sold over 20 million copies, and continue to sell about 400 000 copies a year, according to the Ayn Rand Institute, which has continued her work.

Rand was born in 1905 in Russia, as Alisa Zinovievna Rosenbaum, the daughter of a shopkeeper in St Petersburg. During the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Red Army seized her father's pharmacy, and at age 12 she developed an antipathy to communism that helped guide the development of her future beliefs in support of freedom and capitalism. When she enrolled in the University of Petrograd in 1921, she majored in history and minored in philosophy, and in 1924, she learned about screenwriting at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography in Leningrad. In 1926, she headed to Chicago where her mother had relatives. She adopted her last name from the Remington-Rand typewriter she took with her. A few months later, she headed to Hollywood, now with the first name of Ayn. Soon after arriving, she got a job at DeMille Studios, where she worked as a junior screenwriter and reader, met and married a young struggling actor, Frank O'Connor, and began writing the first of her novels.

[Ayn] Rand's thoughts have never been more relevant given the global market collapse.

Mandy de Waal, ITWeb contributor

Rand's first novels were unsuccessful, and breakthrough came only with the publication in 1943 of The Fountainhead, the story of an architect who destroys a public housing complex he designed, rather than compromising his values. In taking the assignment to design the project, the architect had agreed to work without pay, provided that his final plans would not be changed in any way. When the project was altered against his wishes and the courts failed to provide recourse, the architect blew up the complex. Though the book didn't sell well initially, word spread and it opened the doors to Hollywood contracts and publishing contracts for more books.

In 1957, the publication of Atlas Shrugged, the story of a labour strike that brings mainstream society to a halt, became popular, despite negative reviews. Rand began using the media to promote her philosophy, which she dubbed Objectivism. Aligning with one of her followers, Nathaniel Brandon, she set up the Nathaniel Brandon Institute to offer a course based on her work. By 1967, 25 000 students had graduated from the school.

Meanwhile, a cult-like following developed around Rand, though a break within the group (in part due to the end of an affair between Rand and Nathanial Brandon) led to the emergence of another group led by Leonard Peikoff, Rand's appointed intellectual heir. Rand died in 1982, but Peikiff has continued her work through the Ayn Rand Institute, founded in 1985, with funding from a wealthy businessman.

Principles of Objectivism
Though Rand expressed her ideas through her best-selling novels, they were based on an organised philosophical system, which she called Objectivism. It is based on a practical approach to life that celebrates individual rights and reason. It suggests that there is unlimited opportunity for anyone who works hard towards his or her goals.

Rand's philosophy for living is based on five main components, prioritised in this order:

1. Metaphysics: describes the nature of the universe and how the individual is related to it.
2. Epistemology: investigates the nature of human knowledge.
3. Ethics: examines how the individual should properly behave.
4. Politics: looks at how individuals should live together.
5. Esthetics: considers the nature of beauty or art.

Rand used the term Objectivism to refer to her approach, because these principles were based on what she considered objective values. She believed in the existence of an objective reality that we can know and understand. As a result, we can base our actions on our knowledge of reality. She summed up her first four primary principles in a 1957 sales meeting as follows: Metaphysics equals objective reality; Epistemology equals reason; Ethics equals self-interest, and Politics equals capitalism. Later, she equated Esthetics with romantic realism. More specifically, these principles assert the Rand philosophy of life:

* Metaphysics/objective reality - Existence, consciousness and identity. Things exist outside of our consciousness; each thing has its own identity, and we perceive what exists as conscious beings. By definition, Objectivists are rationalist. They believe that humans exist in harmony with the universe and that conflicts are unnatural errors in thinking that can be corrected.

* Epistemology/reason - You gain knowledge through your sense perception and interpret it rightly or wrongly with your reason. Humans are goal-oriented, and the primary goal is survival. Reason is the main means of survival, and all people are free and independent beings, who can choose to use their senses and ability to reason well.

* Ethics/self-interest - All humans can choose their values, which are the basis of morality. Since each person's most important goal is personal survival, rational self-interest is at the foundation of ethical thought. The three elements of this rational self-interest are reason, purpose and self-esteem. In addition, there are seven virtues or behaviours to support this approach: rationality (reason), productiveness (purpose), pride (self-esteem), independence, integrity, honesty and justice. Humans do and should act always in their own rational self-interest, as long as they don't come into conflict with other people acting on the same principles.

* Politics/capitalism - Any proper political system should be based on the aforementioned principles. As such, any political system should only act to protect the rights of the individual. Capitalism in its purest sense is the only doctrine that reflects these beliefs. Under laissez-faire capitalism, people live and work together for mutual benefit based on mutual consent.

* Esthetics/romantic realism - Great art should express humankind's highest potential. It should express the openness of the universe to human achievement and a heroic portrayal of man.

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