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About Ayn Rand
About Ayn Rand’s Writings
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About the Ayn Rand Institute
About Ayn RandWhere can I find out about Ayn Rand’s life?
Where and when was Ayn Rand born?St. Petersburg, Russia, February 2, 1905. How do you pronounce “Ayn”?“Ayn” rhymes with “mine.” Excerpted from a letter to a fan, 1937: What is the origin of “Rand”?[From ARI’s monthly newsletter Impact, 06/2000] “Although its origin is still uncertain, recent biographical research by Drs. Allan Gotthelf and Michael Berliner has eliminated one possible source. An oft-repeated story claims that Ayn Rand took her last name from her Remington Rand typewriter while she was living in Chicago in 1926. This is false and we would like to put the error to rest. “While still in Russia, c. 1925, and long before Remington-Rand typewriters were produced, Alisa Rosenbaum had adopted the name ‘Rand.’ Letters written in 1926 from Ayn Rand’s family in Russia already refer to the name ‘Rand.’ These were sent from Russia before Ayn Rand had communicated from America. The Remington and Rand companies did not merge until 1927; ‘Rand’ did not appear on their (or any) typewriters until the early 1930s. “One lead to the actual source of the name comes from Ayn Rand herself. In 1936, she told the New York Evening Post that ‘Rand is an abbreviation of my Russian surname.’ Originally, we thought that this was a red herring in order to protect her family from the Soviet authorities. “In 1997 Dr. Berliner noted an interesting coincidence when looking at a copy of Miss Rand’s 1924 university diploma. On the diploma was the name Rosenbaum in the Cyrillic alphabet:
The last three letters clearly look like the Roman letters ‘ayn.’ Richard Ralston then noticed that by covering those letters—and dropping out the second and fourth letters—what remains bears a strong resemblance to the Roman letters ‘Rand.’
“Although far from certain, it appears that the quote in the New York Evening Post may not have been a decoy.” Did Ayn Rand have any children?Miss Rand and her husband, Frank O’Connor, chose not to have any children. Of what did Ayn Rand die? Where is she buried?Ayn Rand died on March 6, 1982, of heart failure. She was buried in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, N.Y., next to her husband Frank O’Connor (who died in 1979). See also: “To the Reader,” by Harry Binswanger, The Objectivist Forum, Vol. 3, No. 1. What university did Ayn Rand attend and what subject did she study?Ayn Rand entered the University of Petrograd to study philosophy and history, and graduated in 1924. Did Ayn Rand have any siblings?Yes, she had two sisters: Natasha and Nora. For which film studios did Ayn Rand work?She worked for quite a few film companies in Los Angeles and New York City intermittently (while working on her writing projects) between 1926 to 1951. Here is a partial list. She worked for Cecil B. DeMille from 1926-27, as an extra, writer and reader; for RKO (1929-32) in the wardrobe department; for Universal (1932) as a writer; Paramount (1934) as a writer; for Hal Wallis at Paramount (1943-48) as a writer. She also worked for Warner Brothers (1943-49) on the screenplay for The Fountainhead movie. In New York (1935-43) she was a reader for Paramount and MGM. About Ayn Rand’s WritingsWhere can I read about Ayn Rand’s view on . . .?Please consult The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z, edited by Harry Binswanger. Now available both in print and on the Web, this book is a mini-encyclopedia of Objectivism, containing the key passages from the writings of Ayn Rand and her associates on 400 topics in philosophy and related fields. From the editor’s preface: “Material by authors other than Miss Rand is included only if she had given it explicit public endorsement—as with Leonard Peikoff’s book The Ominous Parallels and his lecture course ‘The Philosophy of Objectivism’ or if it was originally published under her editorship in The Objectivist Newsletter, The Objectivist or The Ayn Rand Letter. I have also made use of four Objectivist Forum articles that Miss Rand read and approved.” For key passages of dialog as well as all of the speeches from Miss Rand’s novels, see For the New Intellectual. Can I purchase recordings of lectures by Ayn Rand and other ARI speakers?Recorded lectures may be ordered online from the Ayn Rand Bookstore. How can I find out more about Ayn Rand’s intellectual and artistic development?The best source is Miss Rand herself: read Journals of Ayn Rand and Letters of Ayn Rand. The Early Ayn Rand is a collection of stories and plays written by Ayn Rand in the 1920s and 1930s, and includes passages cut from The Fountainhead. See also The Art of Fiction: A Guide for Writers and Readers. I would like to perform Miss Rand’s play Night of January 16th. To whom should I write?For professional production rights requests, contact: Curtis Brown, Ltd.Ten Astor Place New York, NY 10003 For amateur production rights requests, contact: Random HousePermissions Department 3rd Floor 1745 Broadway New York, NY 10019 Mail your request, or fax to 212-572-6066. Also note that the only version that Ayn Rand wanted performed is the one that is in the paperback book of Night of January 16th, published by Plume. Due to many mix-ups, this is likely not the version you will get if you use standard means for obtaining plays. Where do I send a request for permission to reprint an article or essay by Miss Rand?Send reprint requests and questions concerning rights to: Estate of Ayn Randc/o The Ayn Rand Institute 2121 Alton Pkwy, Suite 250 Irvine, CA, 92606 Inquiries will be forwarded to the Estate for consideration. ARI does not own the copyrights to Ayn Rand’s books. Where can I find foreign editions of Miss Rand’s books?The following is a list of recent foreign editions of Ayn Rand's novels. Some of these titles may no longer be in print. Whatever contact information we have for a particular publisher is listed next to a given title. Notes: 1. Native speakers have stated that some foreign editions are not faithful translations. We cannot independently evaluate any of the following editions and therefore do not recommend any particular book. 2. We are unable to offer advice on locating any of the titles listed below. (Try searching the Internet, or contacting a specialist bookseller.) If you know of a foreign edition not listed here, please write to us. The Estate of Ayn Rand has requested that we post the following notice:
Chinese Anthem For the New Intellectual Czech Danish Kun Den Staerke Er Fri (The Fountainhead) Dutch Finnish French Hymne (Anthem) La Source Vive (The Fountainhead) German Greek Italian La Rivolta di Atlante (Atlas Shrugged) 3 vols. Inno (Anthem) Japanese Korean Marathi Norwegian Polish Źródło (The Fountainhead) Hymn (Anthem) Powrót Człowieka Pierwotnego (The Return of the Primitive) Cnota Egoismu (Virtue of Selfishness) Portuguese Romanian Morality of Individualism (essays) Russian Spanish Swedish Urkällan (The Fountainhead) Hymn (Anthem) Lovsång (Anthem) Kapitalismen: det okända idealet (Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal) Turkish Vietnamese Is Howard Roark based on Frank Lloyd Wright?The characters in Miss Rand’s novels are her own original creations. Miss Rand explicitly stated that Roark was not based on Frank Lloyd Wright. From a letter to a fan
[Letters of Ayn Rand, p. 468] For a full exploration of this issue, see “Howard Roark and Frank Lloyd Wright,” a chapter by Michael S. Berliner in Essays on Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” (ed. Robert Mayhew). In Atlas Shrugged a number of major events occur on September 2. What significance, if any, did this date have in Miss Rand’s life?Miss Rand selected that date because it was the date on which she started the actual writing of Atlas Shrugged. Have any of Miss Rand’s novels been made into movies?We the Living
[Excerpt from Reader’s Guide to Selected Works by Ayn Rand, Penguin 1999] The FountainheadThe novel was made into a motion picture in 1949, starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal, for which Ayn Rand wrote the screenplay. The movie, available on DVD, often plays on cable TV and at art-house cinemas, where it is always received enthusiastically. Atlas ShruggedCrusader Entertainment has announced plans to produce a film of Atlas Shrugged. Although a preliminary script has been prepared, the project is still in the early stages of development. The Estate of Ayn Rand sold the rights to the dramatization years ago to another buyer and has no control over any aspect of the project. Final creative control, however, will remain with Crusader. The Ayn Rand Institute is not involved in the project. Decades ago Ayn Rand said that, given the state of Hollywood, one must expect the value of any movie of Atlas to be not its quality as art or as philosophy, but its power to call attention to the book, and thereby boost its sales. If and when the present venture comes to fruition (and assuming a certain level of fidelity to the novel), ARI and the Estate will work closely with the publisher, Penguin, using this opportunity to maximize the visibility and availability of Atlas Shrugged. I’m a teacher. May I reproduce one of Ayn Rand’s essays for my class?The Estate of Ayn Rand, having secured the agreement of Penguin Putnam, allows the photocopying of a single Ayn Rand essay, free of charge, for use on a one-time basis and only in the teaching of a high school or college course, under the following conditions:
Teachers who wish to depart from any of these conditions—such as those wishing to reproduce only excerpts from an essay or novel, or to copy more than a single essay—must forward a specific proposal to the Estate of Ayn Rand, which will consider any request on its merits. For teachers, see also ARI’s classroom lesson plans on Anthem and The Fountainhead. About ObjectivismI have finished reading Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, and I want to learn more about Objectivism; where should I begin?Here are some suggestions. Read the introductory articles on our Objectivism pages; you might also consider viewing the video lecture by Dr. Leonard Peikoff. In the same section of our site, you can find a suggested reading list of Objectivist works. You may also consider taking one of the university-level courses offered at ARI’s Objectivist Academic Center. Where can I read Ayn Rand’s view on . . .?Please consult The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z, edited by Harry Binswanger. Now available both in print and on the Web, this book is a mini-encyclopedia of Objectivism, containing the key passages from the writings of Ayn Rand and her associates on 400 topics in philosophy and related fields. From the editor’s preface: “Material by authors other than Miss Rand is included only if she had given it explicit public endorsement—as with Leonard Peikoff’s book The Ominous Parallels and his lecture course ‘The Philosophy of Objectivism’ or if it was originally published under her editorship in The Objectivist Newsletter, The Objectivist or The Ayn Rand Letter. I have also made use of four Objectivist Forum articles that Miss Rand read and approved.” For key passages of dialog as well as all of the speeches from Miss Rand’s novels, see For the New Intellectual. What is the relationship between Ayn Rand and William F. Buckley’s National Review?In her March 1964 interview for Playboy magazine, Ayn Rand was asked if the National Review “isn’t a powerful voice against all the things you regard as ‘statism’?” Her answer was unequivocal: “I consider National Review the worst and most dangerous magazine in America. The kind of defense that it offers to capitalism results in nothing except the discrediting and destruction of capitalism.” She had a similar response in 1972 when asked about the differences between herself and “conservatives like William Buckley?” She answered that “it would be simpler to ask what similarities there are: none.” (See Ayn Rand Answers, p. 45). Summing up the National Review opposition to Ayn Rand, M. Stanton Evans, in his 1967 National Review article “The Gospel According to Ayn Rand,” lamented that she tried to justify capitalism without its (supposedly) necessary base, i.e. “the Christian culture which has given birth to all our freedoms.” That viewpoint centers the explanation Rand provided Playboy for her opposition to the National Review (and, by implication, Buckley):
Her most extensive commentary on National Review-type conservatives was contained in “Conservatism: An Obituary,” a talk first delivered at Princeton U. in 1960 and revised for publication in Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal:
Perhaps nothing epitomizes the gulf between Objectivism and the National Review better than Whittaker Chambers’ review of Atlas Shrugged, first published in that magazine in 1957 and proudly reprinted by it numerous times, most recently in 2007. Chambers spent a good part of his review sneering at the novel, which he characterized as “remarkably silly,” “bumptious” and “preposterous”—a book that no sensible adult could take seriously. His characterization of Ayn Rand’s ideas was so distorted (he accused her of being in favor of dictatorship, materialism, Nietzsche, and elitism) that it led Leonard Peikoff to state in a letter (unpublished) to the magazine: “Mr. Chambers in an ex-Communist. He has attacked Atlas Shrugged in the best tradition of the Communists—by lies, smears, and cowardly misrepresentations. Mr. Chambers may have changed a few of his political views; he has not changed the method of intellectual analysis and evaluation of the Party to which he belonged.” (The full letter is reprinted in Essays on Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”, ed. Robert Mayhew, Lexington Books, 2009.) In his review, Chambers revealed his (and, by implication, the National Review’s) philosophical opposition to Ayn Rand: he opposed moral absolutes, individualism, rational certainty, realism (as against supernaturalism), free will (as against original sin) and happiness on earth (as against tragic fate). For a rebuttal, see Michael S. Berliner’s critical analysis of Chambers’ review. When Ayn Rand died in 1982, William F. Buckley began his obituary: “Ayn Rand is dead. So, incidentally, is the philosophy she sought to launch dead; it was in fact stillborn.” Buckley’s wishful thinking has fallen afoul of the facts: twenty-seven years later, Ayn Rand’s books are selling 800,000 copies per year, more than at any time in their history. It is clearly not Objectivism (“a philosophy for living on earth”) that is dead. Does Objectivism support Libertarianism?
[Ayn Rand, “Brief Summary,” The Objectivist, September 1971]
[Ayn Rand, “What Can One Do?” Philosophy: Who Needs It] See also “Libertarianism: The Perversion of Liberty,” by Peter Schwartz, in the Ayn Rand collection titled The Voice of Reason. What was Ayn Rand’s view on capital punishment?She thought it was morally just, but legally dangerous—because of the possibility of jury errors which could not be rectified after the death of the innocent man. She had no position on whether there should be a death penalty or not. What was Ayn Rand’s view on abortion?Excerpt from “Of Living Death” in The Objectivist, October 1968:
Is Objectivism atheistic? What is the Objectivist attitude toward religion?
[Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged] From a 1964 interview in Playboy magazine:
What was Ayn Rand’s view on charity?
[From “Playboy’s 1964 interview with Ayn Rand”] Does Objectivism hold that all individuals have something valuable to contribute? What about people who lack creativity or ability? Would they fit into a pure capitalist society?
[Ayn Rand, “Requiem for Man,” Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal]
[Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged] What is the connection between an individual’s moral worth and his intelligence, in the Objectivist view?
[Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged] I am interested in attending lectures on Objectivism. How can I find out if there are any in my area?Please visit our Events page. Who is Leonard Peikoff?Dr. Leonard Peikoff is Ayn Rand’s legal and intellectual heir and the foremost authority on her philosophy. A short biographical essay is available on his Web site. About the Ayn Rand InstituteWhat is ARI’s legal status?ARI is recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our continued existence depends entirely on voluntary contributions. To read about ARI’s founding and about our current projects, please read the Overview page. Is ARI or anyone else formally vested with the right to speak on behalf of Ayn Rand’s Objectivism?No. Therefore, as much as possible, the answers in this FAQ section are quoted from Ayn Rand’s own writings—and material that is not quoted from her, although written by Objectivist scholars whom we consider fully qualified, has to be judged by each reader as to its consistency with Ayn Rand’s published writings, as well, of course, as to its validity. Writing in a similar connection, Ayn Rand stated:
[Ayn Rand, “To the Readers of The Objectivist Forum,” The Objectivist Forum, Vol. 1, No. 1] I’m from the media; how do I get more information or request an interview?The Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights is the media and public policy division of the Ayn Rand Institute. Please visit For Media for more information. How do I send a request for permission to reprint op-eds by ARI or its guest writers?Please complete the contact form. How can I give my financial support to ARI?Please visit our Support ARI page. Whom should I contact about naming ARI as a beneficiary in my will?Kathy Cross is our Gift & Estate Planning Manager. She assists ARI contributors with bequests, charitable trusts and various tax-advantaged gift arrangements. She can also answer basic tax questions and help donors execute outright gifts of securities and other non-cash assets. For more information, visit the Atlantis Legacy/Planned Giving pages. I am a contributor and I have recently moved; to whom should I send my change of address and phone number?Please e-mail Donor Services or call 949-222-6550, ext. 204. How can I get a job with ARI?ARI is always interested in hearing from enthusiastic, hard-working individuals. Current openings are listed on our Employment page. How can I volunteer at ARI?ARI occasionally seeks volunteers for its Irvine offices. Volunteers help to keep ARI’s costs down. Examples of recent activities include: preparing mailings, cataloging ARI audio- and videotape libraries and transcribing rare interviews. For more information about volunteering at ARI, visit our Volunteer page. Is the Foundation for the New Intellectual still active?The Foundation for the New Intellectual, which was established in part by Ayn Rand, has been dissolved. Individuals who have included the Foundation in their estate planning should be aware that, unless it is removed as a beneficiary in wills or insurance policies, money disbursed to it will be returned to the estate of the deceased. Those who wish to make a planned gift toward the long-term advancement of Objectivism might want to contact Kathy Cross, Gift & Estate Planning Manager, and/or visit our Atlantis Legacy/Planned Giving pages. I’m a businessman interested in Ayn Rand’s ideas. Do any of ARI’s projects specifically address the application of philosophy to business?For information about projects that specifically address the application of philosophy to business, visit the For Businessmen section of Ayn Rand Center site. Given Ayn Rand’s passionate defense of profit, why is the Ayn Rand Institute a nonprofit organization?Spreading rational ideas has rewards that are wider than a financial return. This is why thousands of people give copies of Atlas Shrugged or The Fountainhead to people who they think might respond to Ayn Rand’s art and philosophy. No one should imagine that passing on Ayn Rand’s works or speaking out in favor of her ideas has to be justified by a direct financial return. This is precisely the kind of activity that the Ayn Rand Institute exists to do—on a larger, more comprehensive scale than is available to a single individual. How would one make a profit by: providing speakers to college campus Objectivist clubs, running high school essay contests on The Fountainhead and Anthem, teaching and mentoring graduate students pursuing their doctoral degrees, distributing free copies of Ayn Rand’s work on epistemology to philosophy professors, publishing op-eds and letters to the editor, being interviewed on national TV and radio? Ayn Rand Institute acts as a paid agent for those who wish to spread Objectivist ideas. However, they may not have the time or expertise to do this work themselves, so they pay us to do it for them. They do this out of their own rational self-interest—not as alms, duty or sacrifice, but because they want to improve the culture in which they live. How is it that ARI, which opposes servitude and volunteerism, offers volunteer opportunities?ARI supports volunteering so long as it is done selfishly and … voluntarily! What ARI repudiates is the mandatory “volunteering” (a contradiction in terms) or “community service” that some schools require of their students as a condition of graduation. Such requirements are meant to instill in young minds a sense of altruistic duty, i.e., unchosen obligation, toward others. The morality of altruism holds that the good consists of service to others—not the pursuit of one’s own values and interests. On this view, a student who miserably dishes out broth in a soup kitchen is morally superior to a student who spends his afternoons studying in the library so that he can one day become a doctor. That is the perverse view ARI opposes. Forced “volunteering” requires that students sacrifice their time and judgment by demanding that they devote time to causes they may not support. In contrast, ARI’s volunteer program is truly voluntary. Our volunteers support our mission and selfishly choose to invest some of their time helping us accomplish it. It is not an act of self-sacrifice—it is a means of pursuing their own values. What is the relationship between the Ayn Rand Institute and the Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship?The Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship is a separate legal entity with its own funding, staff, and board of directors. Anthem Foundation specializes in one aspect of ARI’s mission: supporting the study of Ayn Rand and Objectivism in academia. Because the work of the Anthem Foundation helps ARI achieve its goals, ARI is supportive of, and sometimes helps to promote, the Anthem Foundation. What is the relationship between the Ayn Rand Institute and Second Renaissance, Inc.?Second Renaissance, Inc. is a for-profit entity which ARI acquired in February of 2003. It is comprised of an online bookstore and a conference business which fully complement the mission of the Ayn Rand Institute, a not-for-profit entity. In addition to selling books by Ayn Rand and other Objectivist speakers and authors, the Ayn Rand Bookstore produces and offers audio and video lectures on a variety of topics, many of which were delivered at summer conferences. The conference business is called Objectivist Conferences (OCON). At present, OCON produces one to two-week annual summer conferences, generally held on the west coast in even-numbered years and the east coast in odd-numbered years. In the future, we expect to expand that to include shorter conferences throughout the year, as well. What is the involvement of the Ayn Rand Institute with a motion picture adaptation of Atlas Shrugged?Many years ago the Estate of Ayn Rand licensed a motion picture adaptation of Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged. The Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) is not and has not been involved with production planning, nor has it been aware of the progress of such plans beyond what appears in the press. There have been many announcements about possible production companies, distributors, scripts, funding, and casting over those years and many changes and developments about all of those matters. ARI has not commented on them, nor do we think that it serves any purpose to comment until a final motion picture is completed and released. We certainly hope that a satisfactory film version of Atlas Shrugged is produced. In any case, we primarily support Ayn Rand’s own view that the chief purpose and benefit of a film adaptation of Atlas Shrugged of whatever quality would be to call the attention of new readers to the book. Both the Ayn Rand Institute and the Estate of Ayn Rand look forward to that. Can I visit the Ayn Rand Institute?We appreciate everyone’s interest in ARI, but we are not open to the general public for visits or tours. ARI headquarters is an administrative office that for the most part looks and functions like a normal office suite. There are, however, a few Ayn Rand artifacts and memorabilia on display. In the future we hope to have some kind of exhibit or museum for the general public to visit. If you are a donor interested in visiting ARI, please send an e-mail to ARI’s Donor Services. State the date and time you wish to visit, and we will contact you to confirm the visit. 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Copyright © 1995–2009 Ayn Rand® Institute (ARI). All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited. ARI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions to ARI in the United States are tax-exempt to the extent provided by law. Objectivist Conferences (OCON) and the Ayn Rand Bookstore are operated by the Ayn Rand Institute. Payments made to Objectivist Conferences or to the Ayn Rand Bookstore do not qualify as tax-deductible contributions to the Ayn Rand Institute.