The "Who Is Ayn Rand" Rush to Judgment

“No, his mind is not for rent

To any God or government

Always hopeful yet discontent

He knows changes aren’t permanent

But change is…..”

These are lyrics in a song Tom Sawyer produced for the rock group Rush (Spirit of the Radio: 1974-1987).

During high school, I was exposed to a heavy dose of rock music as a result of the friends I hung out with. Bands like Journey, Boston, Foreigner, AC/DC, and Kansas were a constant part of my listening experience. But there is one group that really stood out for me, due to their edgy themes and powerful lyrical messages. That group was Rush.

Originating in Canada, this musical troupe featured guitarist Alex Lifeson, singer/bass and keyboardist Geddy Lee and drummer extraordinaire Neil Peart. Of this trio, Peart always seemed to garner the most attention, as he was the person behind bringing the novelist Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy into the musical mainstream. 

Peart died in 2020. Prior to that, he had reportedly distanced himself from Rand’s thinking. Yet the legacy of her work still lives on through the music of this iconic group.

2112 – the band’s 1976 album – was in part dedicated to the “Genius of Ayn Rand.” It was inspired in part by Rand’s novel, ‘Anthem’, which explores a dystopian world where totalitarianism is threatened by the rediscovery of the guitar. 

Of note, Rush has the distinction of being the only music group ever to be cited in the “Journal of Ayn Rand Studies.”

Encountering Ayn Rand

Oddly enough, my first awareness of Ayn Rand took place in 1985 while I was eating at a pizza restaurant in Evanston, Illinois in suburban Chicago. I initiated a random conversation, mid-slice, with a woman across from me who was reading a hefty book called ‘Atlas Shrugged’. When she asked whether I had ever heard of the author, I lied and told her “Yes, I’ve heard of him.” With tears of laughter in her eyes and sternness in her voice, she informed me that Ayn Rand was a woman and should be referred to accordingly.

It wasn’t until years later that I became reacquainted with Rand’s work and the influence of the musical group Rush in this movement

In researching this, I discovered that Randian themes are reflected in the lyrics of many of Rush’s songs, including this extract from their song called ‘Anthem’:

“Live for yourself, there’s no one else

More worth living for

Begging hands and bleeding hearts will

Only cry out for more”

Many have argued that this verse signifies a jab at Canada, the socialist homeland where Rush got their start. 

Fans of Rush will also remember these lyrics from the song ‘Free Will’:

“You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.

If you choose not to decide, you still haven’t made a choice.

You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill.

I will choose a path that’s clear…

I will choose Free Will”

Here, the essence of Rand’s Objectivist philosophy oozes out, namely, the power we all have in choosing our own life destiny. This, according to the song, requires us to take responsibility for our shortcomings, instead of choosing to get enmeshed in ‘phantom fears’ like power and influence, shifts in the economy and social inequality. 

It could be argued that these fears are what embolden political leaders to support socialistic initiatives that keep us locked into the system. By throwing shade at these attempts at power and control, we can set ourselves free from the tentacles of everyday enslavement that hinder our basic rights of economic freedom and justice.

March 6, 2022, marked the fortieth anniversary of the death of Ayn Rand, a writer whose work has been worshipped, vilified, and tersely debated for decades. Yet, her acolytes are quick to note that her deep philosophical insights have never been more relevant given the times we are in. 

Born and educated in Russia, Rand moved to the United States in 1926. In her formative years she became an ardent foe of not only communism but the religious and nationalist tenets that dominated pre‐​revolutionary Russian culture. 

Here early life in Soviet Russia offers striking similarities to the events playing out in Russia and the Ukraine today. Having witnessed the horror of totalitarianism first hand, Rand believed that government regulation, irrespective of how small the footprint, was an indication of communism's slow emergence in the world. 

She ranted about how her father’s prosperous business had been seized by the Bolsheviks, supposedly “for the good of the people”. 

Moveover, these times ushered in Rand's polarizing perspectives on altruism and subsequent embrace of selfishness as a virtue. 

With the Russian -Ukrainian conflict solidly embedded in the news these days, I recently turned to The Passion of Ayn Rand, a biography penned by Barbara and Nathaniel  Branden, leading figures in the Objectivist movement and close associates of Rand for 18-years. Published by Doubleday in 1986, it was the first full-length biography of Rand and the basis for the 1999 film of the same name starring Helen Mirren as Rand.

Written in 1962, it provides a well-constructed analysis and biographical essay of Rand’s novels. 

The first section of the book contains three essays by Nathaniel Branden, under the heading "An Analysis of the Novels of Ayn Rand,” including Rand’s magnum opus Atlas Shrugged (1957). The second discusses the intersection between Rand’s Objectivism and the field of psychology. The third section offers a utterly fascinating look at her literary techniques.

The book's final section contains a biographical essay of Rand by Barbara Branden, which was written with Rand's full cooperation and review.

Personally, I have long found the radical, revolutionary, and edgy nature of Ayn Rand’s works immensely fascinating. By navigating her canon of works will shake you out of your doldrums, forcing you to continue to re-examine your life value proposition. All of this is what has made Rand such a controversial and polarizing figure over the years. 

As Branden asserts in the book’s introduction: 

“Few figures in this century have been so admired and so savagely attacked.” 

Yet, Rand would in my view would hold a higher level of respect for those who critically thought through their rebuttals to her views, irrespective of whether they agreed with her or not.

She was largely known for her philosophical stance as an unrelenting champion of individualism — “the creative power revolutionizing the world.” Rand described this system as one where wealth and position were inherited or acquired by physical conquest or political favor. She advocated that it be replaced by an alternative narrative in which values had to be earned through productive work. 

Rand herself described this viewpoint best:

“Man, every man, is an end in himself, not a means to the end of others. He is not a sacrificial animal. As a living being, he must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to theirs nor sacrificing others to himself. The achievement of his own happiness is man’s highest moral purpose.” 

This statement alone has been a key element in her vilification over the year as many have emplies a selfish, mean spiritedness towards other. Rather, what I believe Rand was saying here is that by exhorting our sovereign right towards taking care ourselves first, we are better able to care for others if we so choose.

As Mark Victor Hanson, co-author of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul book series once noted, “the greatest thing we can do for those among us who are poor is to not become one of them.” 

It’s here where the works of Rand have often been described as a “philosophy for living on earth.” I’ve found this invaluable in crafting my own philosophical clarity and direction as I had a propensity early in life to rely on random synchronicities and the goodwill of others as the bain of my existence.