Editor's note: This review appeared in the April 27 issue of
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“Ayn Rand is the greatest human being who has ever lived.”
“Ayn Rand, by virtue of her philosophical genius, is the supreme arbiter in any issue pertaining to what is rational, moral, or appropriate to man’s life on earth.”
“Once one is acquainted with Ayn Rand and/or her work, the measure of one’s virtue is intrinsically tied to the position one takes regarding her and/or it.”
These, according to Brian Doherty’s new book
Radicals for Capitalism, are just three of the “implicit premises” of Ayn Rand’s inner circle. These ideas were taught to young initiates through an organization called the Nathaniel Branden Institute, whose founder, Nathaniel Branden, was born Nathan Blumenthal but changed his name — so the story goes — when he fell under Rand’s spell: “Branden” is an anagram for “ben Rand,” or “son of Rand” in Hebrew. The married Branden denied this oft-repeated claim, perhaps because it would make his sexual relationship with Rand too incestuous even for one who truly did believe she was the greatest human being who has ever lived. Considering that it was
National Review — in a 1957 Whittaker Chambers review of
Atlas Shrugged — that famously read Ayn Rand and her philosophy out of the conservative movement as a form of cult, it seems worth mentioning all of this, if for no other motivation than team pride: “We told you so!”
That being said,
Radicals for Capitalism is, quite simply, the best book of its kind ever written. This should not be interpreted as faint praise merely because it is the only book of its kind ever written (at least that I am aware of). It is an extraordinary accomplishment. Doherty, a senior editor at
Reason magazine, has amassed an astonishing amount of information, often from hard-to-find sources, and presented it in a way that is accessible to the novice and illuminating to those already familiar with its subject matter (this reviewer falls into both camps, depending on the topic).
The book is by no means flawless. There are passages where Doherty lapses into movement stenography, calling the roll of those attending meetings forgotten even by most in attendance — and with such amnesia subtracting very little from human wisdom. Some overlong sentences are almost Bushian in that they start out fine, but you have no idea where they might end up. Also, there is so much material — and there are so many overlapping narratives — that at times Doherty’s timelines seem a bit tangled. But these are mere potholes in an otherwise extremely entertaining and informative ride.
One of the great sins in book reviewing is reviewing the book the author didn’t actually write, but the one the reviewer wishes he had. So in a sense mine is a sinful critique. But the biggest objection to be made to
Radicals for Capitalism revolves around what the book
isn’t. In its 700-plus pages of text and footnotes, Doherty doesn’t pick a single philosophical fight, at least not with fellow libertarians. This is Big Tent intellectual history, where everybody’s point of view is aired and every member gets a portrait on the clubhouse wall.
In some cases, as with the chapter dealing with Rand, one could argue that Doherty lets the damning facts speak for themselves. But, overall, Doherty has made a clear choice to offer a just-the-facts rendition of libertarian history. He uses what are clearly keen analytical tools to explain what the Rands, Rothbards, Miseses, and others had to say and how they related to one another, but he puts those tools on the shelf when it comes time to distinguish between the arguments of these largely “peculiar people” (his words). As an editorial choice this is entirely valid, perhaps even laudable: After all, libertarians, like conservatives, have no shortage of options if they’re looking for doctrinal squabbles. And libertarians, unlike conservatives, have lacked — until now — a straightforward history of their movement and tradition. This lacuna is no doubt attributable in part to the fact that libertarians often have revolutionary fire in their hearts and, like all revolutionaries, believe the past is a pile of dry bones offering little save a foundation upon which the New Order must be built.
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