Foundations of a Free Society: Reflections on Ayn Rand's Political Philosophy

by Gregory Salmieri (Editor), Robert Mayhew

Foundations of a Free Society brings together some of the most knowledgeable Ayn Rand scholars and proponents of her philosophy, as well as notable critics, putting them in conversation with other intellectuals who also see themselves as defenders of capitalism and individual liberty. United by the view that there is something importantly right—though perhaps also much wrong—in Rand’s political philosophy, contributors reflect on her views with the hope of furthering our understandings of what sort of society is best and why. The volume provides a robust elaboration and defense of the foundation of Rand’s political philosophy in the principle that force paralyzes and negates the functioning of reason; it offers an in-depth scholarly discussion of Rand’s view on the nature of individual rights and the role of government in defending them; it deals extensively with the similarities and differences between Rand’s thought and the libertarian tradition (to which she is often assimilated) and objections to her positions arising from this tradition; it explores Rand’s relation to the classical liberal tradition, specifically with regard to her defense of freedom of the intellect; and it discusses her views on the free market, with special attention to the relation between these views and those of the Austrian school of economics.
 

Genres: Philosophy, Politics

472 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 2019

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very useful tome in presenting Rand's political philosophy in an acadæmic context, especially with reference to mapping out the nuances that contrast and compare it to the libertarian perspective.

[Louis Le Marquand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an invaluable resource for any defender of individual rights and Capitalism.

If you're motivated by a need to understand the political philosophy of Ayn Rand, or if you're motivated by a desire to grasp a rational, objective, secular defence of Capitalism - which can be explained by empirical evidence, reason and logic, then this is the book for you. It will be an invaluable resource to you and it will give you an ideological advantage that most defenders of freedom do not have.

Additionally, this book is of prime importance for anyone interest in economics, specifically, in Austrian economics, for this book attempts to - and I believe succeeds at - showing the philosophic compatibility between Objectivism and the Austrian School of Economics. What Austrian economics has lacked to date is a proper philosophic grounding in of their ideas in epistemology, human nature and ethics. Rob Tarr's chapter titled "Economic Theory of Conceptions of Value: Rand and Austrians versus the Mainstream" is essential in the development of this field of enquiry. Tarr traces the philosophic and economic ideas which led to the different conceptions of value for the Classical, Neo-classical and Austrian School and shows why the Austrians succeeded (albeit imperfectly) in their evaluation of a market economy where all other economic schools do not. Tarr crucially shows the similarity between Rand's methodological approach to that of the early Austrians like Menger and Mises but goes onto explain why this methodology is valid in epistemological terms discovered by Rand. Tarr also makes the argument that Economics is necessarily a normative social science bounded by a particular ethical code, a code which if did not exist, the field of economics would not exist, but this deserves further evaluation by professional Austrians.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're familiar with Rand's work, then you'll be familiar with the general position of these essays, but I found much more original material than I expected. It is a fresh, original presentation (with some essays from other viewpoints) that I found really helpful. I came away with a better understanding of some basic concepts, like the "Non-Initiation of Force" principle, and "value" in the economic context. Definitely worth a read for those interested in how Objectivism applies to politics and economics.