In this episode of New Ideal Live, Elan Journo and Harry Binswanger analyze Alexandra Popoff’s new biography, Ayn Rand: Writing a Gospel of Success, particularly its portrayal of Rand as a “Jewish thinker.” They address the false attempt to link Rand’s “ethnicity” to her philosophy.

Among the topics covered:

● The determinism of labeling Rand as “influenced” by her ancestry vs. the central role of choice in her thought and life;
● The irrelevant evidence offered for Rand’s “ethnic” identity;
● Spurious evidence of Rand’s reaction to Soviet injustices in her political thinking;
● Why Rand’s novels put plot first and were not merely a vehicle for ideas;
● How The Fountainhead is Rand’s rejection of Nietzsche’s ideas;
● How Popoff’s book fails to engage with Rand’s rejection of the tribalism central to the concept “ethnicity”;
● Why Ayn Rand called herself a Jew in response to Antisemitism;
● How Popoff’s book rehashes the same errors of older flawed biographies.


Mentioned in this podcast are Ayn Rand’s essay “What Is Capitalism?” (https://courses.aynrand.org/works/wha...) and her lecture “Global Balkanization.” (https://ari.aynrand.org/issues/cultur...)

The podcast was broadcast on September 6, 2024.

0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:08 Rand’s ancestry vs. the role of choice in her life
0:12:50 Irrelevant evidence for Rand’s “ethnic” identity
0:20:40 Rand’s reaction to Soviet injustices in her thinking
0:27:40 Rand’s novels as putting plot first
0:35:45 The Fountainhead’s as a rejection of Nietzsche’s ideas
0:40:12 Popoff’s book and Rand’s rejection of tribalism
0:45:46 Ayn Rand calling herself a Jew in response to Antisemitism
0:51:46 Popoff’s book rehashing the same old errors



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