Reason Foundation Co-Founder Tibor Machan on Ayn Rand

Tibor Machan was one of the founding partners in Reason Enterprises, which began publishing Reason magazine in 1971, three years after its creation. He became editor in the spring of 1971 and worked with the magazine through the '70s and '80s as an associate editor and senior editor. In 1978 he co-founded the Reason Foundation with Manny Klausner and Bob Poole. Today Machan holds the R. C. Hoiles Chair of Business Ethics and Free Enterprise at the Argyros School of Business & Economics at Chapman University in Orange, California.

"I think that for Ayn Rand to have survived and made a life for herself, she almost needed that edgy personality, otherwise she would have been destroyed," says Machan, who was born in Hungary in 1939. At 14 years of age, his father smuggled Machan out of the country, fearing the Hungarian communist government. His background helps give Machan insight into how the intellectual mind of Ayn Rand functioned. "Her unpleasantness," he says, "ultimately can be fully justified given the treatment she was given when she came out the Soviet Union, told the truth about that country, and nobody paid attention." In 2000, Machan wrote Ayn Rand exploring all the major themes of Ayn Rand's philosophical thought.

Approximately six minutes. Interview by David Nott, camera by Alex Manning, and editing by Hawk Jensen.

This is part of the Reason.tv series Radicals For Capitalism: Celebrating the Ideas of Ayn Rand.

Watch the second part of the series: Reason Foundation Co-Founder Bob Poole on Ayn Rand at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJf5B7AHo_U

Watch the first part of the series, Rand-O-Rama: The Long Shelf Life of Ayn Rand at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRqNV6tNH5c

Watch a promo trailer for the series at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRqNV6tNH5c

Go to http://reason.tv for more information and downloadable versions of all videos.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ayn rand
• tibor machan
• libertarian
• libertarianism
• objectivism
• chapman university
• reasontv
• reason magazine

[grantsinmypants2]

Rand was Russian, Rand was a woman, Rand was a novelist, Rand couldn't fit in fully with the left nor the right, she looked unusual, etc, etc, etc...

These superifical people always have some cheap, sociological explanation for why she's so popular.

It's always anything and everything besides the fundamentality of her ideas. The fact that she was the first to ever fully defend what the rest of us liked, but never knew why we did so.

[787Bisurdaddy]

I'm not a fan of this Rand worship stuff. Reason is great because it talks about ideas, not people. You guys should be encouraging others to NOT mindlessly idolizing certain individuals and instead focus on the great ideas that matter.

[787Bisurdaddy]

@noderunnermiles

It's not so much the contents of this particular video, but the rash of videos in praise of Rand that Reason did almost simultaneously. Don't get me wrong, I like SOME of her ideas, but lets discuss them, rather than the person who promoted them.

Besides, if we're going to talk about capitalism, where are the videos about Rothbard? Spooner? Mises?

[noderunnermiles]

@787Bisurdaddy I'm not a fan of "worship" either. But how do you distinguish "mindlessly idolizing" Rand from recognizing her achievements and the impact they have had over the last fifty years? I didn't see anything in this video that I would characterize as "mindlessly idolizing."

[Jitpring]

@787Bisurdaddy For a devastating take on Rand, google for this:

Ayn Rand: Engineer of Souls by Anthony Daniels

Also google for this:

The Greatly Ghastly Rand by Jason Lee Steorts

[charlessmyth]

"There is more happiness in giving than in receiving." There is truth in that, and is an argument well developed in George Gilder's 'Wealth and Poverty' without detracting from Rand's rationale. Communism is atheist to the extent that the state has taken over the role of God. And selfish to the extent that the constructive selfishness of the individual, is subverted to the destructive selfishness of the collective.

[charlessmyth]

Good clip, in which Tibor comes across very agreeably :-)

[dantean]

Rand's call 2 reason would seem more plausible had she reasoned far enough to drop those things blocking successful conveyance of her message. Perhaps she didn't give a crap if the world was saved from totalitarianisms of various stripes. She had books to sell and the fate of the world--the ostensible subject not only of those books, but her entire career--couldn't quite compete w her interest in accumulating wealth. So she's saving the world or she could care less about saving the world--which?

[RatkoUSA]

All true and very well stated. I would however, without disagreeing with Tibor Machan, place even greater importance on Liberty. Freedom was never said to be safe, it can't promise that, there will be dangers it's part of the package, nevertheless, surrendering Freedom is far more dangerous making the rational choice obvious. I've gone out of my way befriending any who escaped communism, too bad Americans won't listen, their accounts are dire warnings for anyone not desiring Hell on Earth.

[Wejer3]

@XCritonX

Clearly you do not know what you are talking about. However, that can be remedied. I suggest you read the following book:

Virtue of Selfishness, by Ayn Rand

[platypusbarack09]

"These superifical people always have some cheap, sociological explanation for why she's so popular."

OK, let me give you one focusing on her ideas: she was so popular because she gave people unable to cope with life's complexities simple slogans they could repeat as a substitute for actually thinking.

[Beethovens7th]

God these "Reason" guys are just so wishy-washy. If you go listen to Ayn Rand talk for 6 minutes you will learn so much more than you will listening to this weirdo.