Miss Rand, Could You Summarize Your Philosophy?

Ayn Rand was often asked, on radio and television, to briefly summarize her philosophy. In 1962, when Rand was invited to be a weekly columnist for the Los Angeles Times, she began her column by summarizing the essence of her philosophy, Objectivism. In this minicourse at ARI Campus, you can now listen to Rand herself reading that very first column.

Newcomers to Rand’s philosophy will hear a concise orientation to the core principles of Objectivism and get a sense of the perspective from which Rand analyzed and evaluated the issues and trends that she wrote about throughout her life.

Long-time fans of Rand’s ideas may want to go beyond this introductory statement and explore (or revisit) The Ayn Rand Column, a collection of her weekly pieces for the Los Angeles Times. This slender volume contains many insights not just about the culture and events of 1960s America, but about perennial issues such as freedom of speech, the roots of war, foreign policy, literature and the nature of evil.