I appreciate your concerns, Jonathan. I think one of the keys is that material on Rand is making its way into scholarly encyclopedias and textbooks across disciplines---from philosophy to sociology to economics to political theory. And even those who are critical of Rand are joining the formal philosophical discussion. For example, in our own pages in The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, several high-profile left-wing critics have published respectful pieces on Rand: Bill Martin, National Book Critics Circle Award finalist Gene Bell-Villada, and even continental philosopher Slavoj Zizek. (Zizek includes a discussion of Rand in his book, The Abyss of Freedom, where he argues that Rand's character, Howard Roark, is a portrait of genuine human "authenticity.")
I think this is the kind of activity in which we've seen an increase.
Still, it would be a mistake to suggest that there is no resistance to Rand's ideas. I suspect that this might be an outgrowth of several factors: 1) her status as a "novelist"; 2) her status as a woman in a predominantly male field; and 3) her status as a proponent of capitalism. It would be difficult to prove that these are the reasons for Rand's continued marginalization in some quarters, but to suggest that the marginalization comes because Rand has been "discredited" as a philosopher (as Risen states) is absurd. I say this because in order to be "discredited," one must first be discussed, and that formal academic discussion is still in its infancy.
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra on January 30, 2005 at 5:55 PM