Libertopia

A heavy smoker who refused to believe that smoking causes cancer brings to mind those today who are equally certain there is no such thing as global warming. Unfortunately, Miss Rand was a fatal victim of lung cancer.

However, it was revealed in the recent "Oral History of Ayn Rand" by Scott McConnell (founder of the media department at the Ayn Rand Institute) that in the end Ayn was a vip-dipper as well. An interview with Evva Pryror, a social worker and consultant to Miss Rand's law firm of Ernst, Cane, Gitlin and Winick verified that on Miss Rand's behalf she secured Rand's Social Security and Medicare payments which Ayn received under the name of Ann O'Connor (husband Frank O'Connor).

As Pryor said, "Doctors cost a lot more money than books earn and she could be totally wiped out" without the aid of these two government programs. Ayn took the bail out even though Ayn "despised government interference and felt that people should and could live independently... She didn't feel that an individual should take help."

4 Responses to “Libertopia”

1. 
   peter
   30/1/11 17:16

   had never heard of her before
   just read a quick bio
   she's hilarious

2. 
   Chris
   31/1/11 08:28

   Noam Chomsky described Rand as "one of the most evil figures of modern intellectual history".

3. 
   Timothy Morton
   21/2/11 11:21

   Hi, thanks for this--I begin something like a response here.

4. 
   Bradley
   28/2/11 13:03

   I don't consider myself to be an Objectivist. However, I have read some of Ayn Rand's essays and believe that she addresses this very question. She held that you could accept this sort of assistance from the government so long as you regarded it as reparation for all the harm that the state has done to you.