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Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution
The New Left cultural movement of the 1960s and early '70s condemned everything for which America stood. It achieved limited political success but brought about cultural changes that remain with us today because it faced little fundamental intellectual opposition. Ayn Rand opposed the New Left in her 1971 anthology of essays The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution. Re...more
Compact Disc, 11 pages
Published
December 1st 2009
by Blackstone Audiobooks
(first published January 1st 1999)
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This collection of essays is an expanded edition of “The New Left: The Anti-industrial Revolution” by philosopher Ayn Rand (author of "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead"). The additions include a few timely essays on subjects such as the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of multiculturalism and environmentalism by Peter Schwartz.
All of the essays by Rand feature her application of her unique philosophy of Objectivism, and her trademark precision and ability t...more
All of the essays by Rand feature her application of her unique philosophy of Objectivism, and her trademark precision and ability t...more
If you are even thinking about reading this book you will have some preconceived sentiment, either positive or negative, towards the author before opening the cover. I also presume that the majority's sentiment would be positive. I had mixed feelings about Ayn Rand before reading this book, and I have mixed feelings about her after reading this book. But one thing I know is that I am better off for having read the book. It challenges the way we (I at least) were (was) raised to view the world. T...more
Rand is a polemical writer, but sometimes I enjoy a good polemic.
This collection of essays, an expanded edition of The New Left, was compiled by Ayn Rand's disciple Peter Schwartz, founding editor of The Intellectual Activist magazine. In addition to Rand's 12 essays, Schwartz has added three of his own to tackle modern issues from an Objectivist world-view: "Gender Tribalism," "The Philosophy of Privation," and "Multicultural Nihilism." These works ...more
This collection of essays, an expanded edition of The New Left, was compiled by Ayn Rand's disciple Peter Schwartz, founding editor of The Intellectual Activist magazine. In addition to Rand's 12 essays, Schwartz has added three of his own to tackle modern issues from an Objectivist world-view: "Gender Tribalism," "The Philosophy of Privation," and "Multicultural Nihilism." These works ...more
I read Ayn Rand, but I do not agree with most of her philosophy. In this anthology of essays I especially liked "Apollo and Dionysus," though I strongly dispute Rand's conclusion that Dionysus has nothing to teach us, and that only Apollo matters . . . Anyway, as much as I agree with Rand about the horrors of collectivism and the importance of individualism, I find I simply can't agree with much of her philosophy.
Though I fail to appreciate some of the things she loves... - bah this is true of anyone, its a good book so far :) And it already has some of my favorite passages of any book.
I'd read Altas and Foundtainhead first. More discussion of the same ideas. Probably wouldn't bother with it if you've read the others.
Aynstein spares few in this book of her collected essays. Caustic, filled with passione, this book harshly critiques the 60's and 70's radical movement: The New Left.
She calls 'em as she sees 'em. Rand on Folk Art: "If you've seen one people jumping up and down and clapping their hands, you've seen them all." Her championing of the individual finds few adherents in modern academe, but her work still seems fresh and relevant. The added essays by Peter Schwartz bring a numbe...more
She calls 'em as she sees 'em. Rand on Folk Art: "If you've seen one people jumping up and down and clapping their hands, you've seen them all." Her championing of the individual finds few adherents in modern academe, but her work still seems fresh and relevant. The added essays by Peter Schwartz bring a numbe...more
Start: September 26, 2008
Finish: November 3, 2008
True rating: 9.5/10
Finish: November 3, 2008
True rating: 9.5/10
still relevant today.
In this collection of essays, Ayn Rand applies her philosophies quite effectively to several of the pressing social issues of the day. In doing so, she gives words to what for many people are sort of back-of-the-mind nagging feelings about the problems with our one-size-fits all culture. I wouldn't say that I agree with every idea expressed, but this book helps break down a lot of complex issues in a logical, emotionless fashion and gives the reader a jumping-off point to evaluate the subjects d...more
The predictions she makes in here are wonderfully accurate. I think this is the best collection of her essays I've read yet.
The Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution by Ayn Rand (1999)
Awesome! Especially the essay on education. Very illuminating.
This is a more than average tedious read for an Ayn Rand book.
I think that it points out some interesting perspectives on how the Berkley free speech movement has shaped (disfigured may be a better word) the body of politics and popular accepted thought currently accepted today.
I think that it points out some interesting perspectives on how the Berkley free speech movement has shaped (disfigured may be a better word) the body of politics and popular accepted thought currently accepted today.
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| What? | 2 | 7 | Jan 05, 2008 02:43pm |
Alisa Rosenbaum was born in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg to a prosperous Jewish family. When the Bolsheviks requisitioned the pharmacy owned by her father, Fronz, the Rosenbaums fled to the Crimea. Alisa returned to the city (renamed Leningrad) to attend the university, but in 1926 relatives who had already settled in America offered her the chance of joining them there. With money from the sa...more
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“Now observe that in all the propaganda of the ecologists—amidst all their appeals to nature and pleas for “harmony with nature”—there is no discussion of man’s needs and the requirements of his survival. Man is treated as if he were an unnatural phenomenon. Man cannot survive in the kind of state of nature that the ecologists envision—i.e., on the level of sea urchins or polar bears....
In order to survive, man has to discover and produce everything he needs, which means that he has to alter his background and adapt it to his needs. Nature has not equipped him for adapting himself to his background in the manner of animals. From the most primitive cultures to the most advanced civilizations, man has had to manufacture things; his well-being depends on his success at production. The lowest human tribe cannot survive without that alleged source of pollution: fire. It is not merely symbolic that fire was the property of the gods which Prometheus brought to man. The ecologists are the new vultures swarming to extinguish that fire.”
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In order to survive, man has to discover and produce everything he needs, which means that he has to alter his background and adapt it to his needs. Nature has not equipped him for adapting himself to his background in the manner of animals. From the most primitive cultures to the most advanced civilizations, man has had to manufacture things; his well-being depends on his success at production. The lowest human tribe cannot survive without that alleged source of pollution: fire. It is not merely symbolic that fire was the property of the gods which Prometheus brought to man. The ecologists are the new vultures swarming to extinguish that fire.”
