A New Textbook of Americanism: The Politics of Ayn Rand

by Jonathan Hoenig (Editor), Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff

Featuring never before released material from Ayn Rand... about politics! Most people have no idea what the United States represents. Ayn Rand did grasp America’s political essence down to its roots. World-famous as the author of Atlas Shrugged, Rand emigrated from Russia to the United States in 1926 at the age of twenty-one. Upon her arrival, she discovered that the collectivist politics of Russia, and Europe in general, were taking hold in America. An early effort to fight this trend was Rand’s Textbook of Americanism, which she began writing in 1946 but was left unfinished. Until now. Seventy-two years later, A New Textbook of The Politics of Ayn Rand addresses the questions she did not answer then, building on her insights to illuminate Americanism and its present-day application. Featuring Rand’s full 1946 work plus essays from the New Intellectuals, including Leonard Peikoff, and never-before-published discussions with Ayn Rand. Rand once called the United States “the only moral country in the history of the world.” A New Textbook of Americanism explores the reasons for her judgment.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, History

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 18, 2018

Reviews

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

A BREATH OF REASON…

“For two millennia, Western history has been the expression of a philosophic duel. The duelists are Plato and Aristotle. Plato is the first thinker to systematize other-worldliness. […] Aristotle […] is the first thinker to systematize worldliness. His metaphysics upholds the primacy of existence; his epistemology, the validity of reason; his ethics, the ideal of personal happiness.” (p. 108/109)

A New Textbook of Americanism: The Politics of Ayn Rand, featuring essays by several Objectivist writers, in addition to Rand, offers a breath of reason in the chaos of current politics.

Recommendation: For all who take their politics seriously, it is a must read.

“…the only validation of a government is the protection of individual rights.” (p. 117)

Capitalistpig.com. Kindle Edition. 223 pages.

[Ron Housley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading Rand’s “Textbook” in the form of a 25-cent stapled-together pamphlet back in my school-days. It included only the first twelve questions back then, with no elaboration and with no frills of any kind. I still have that pamphlet all these many years later. A few things are actually valuable enough to hold onto for a lifetime — only a few. Rand’s own words have never disappointed.

All my life I’ve been reading her critics and detractors: they mostly specialize in setting up straw men to pick apart; and they take joy in smearing her at any opportunity. I eventually developed a resistance to it, not unlike becoming inoculated against some vile disease.

This present volume was put together by a one Jonathan Hoenig, hedge fund manager, former Chicago commodities trader (from the yelling and screaming era) and part-time talking head on cable news. It was from one of those TV appearances that I stumbled upon Jonathan. He was one of the few principled voices ever allowed air-time; his insights were incisive and refreshing to hear.

I gave a number of Hoenig’s books as Christmas presents this past season, but I know that newcomers to these ideas aren’t going to have my personal sense of enthusiasm for a set of clarifying insights about what’s making our world turn.

Sometimes one doesn’t need a whole set of insights: sometimes, it is enough to just grasp what the issues themselves are, to know what’s at play in the real world out there as competing sides do battle in furtherance of their opposite agendas.

In the case of this little volume, we see the world in terms of its most basic, starting questions: these are questions that most people seem to never ask in the first place ---- like, for instance, the question of whether individualism or collectivism has the moral high ground; and whether settling this choice must precede choosing a political system.

The world suffers from needless trauma as the result of skipping over and ignoring the basic starting questions. And this book is one of the rare places where the basic questions are laid out.

Rand’s “Textbook” presents what some of the starting questions in politics are; and it gives voice to many of the basic answers, answers which have been mostly lost to our current culture.

Maybe somebody out there will begin to ask the right questions…

One of my favorite questions here is: how did the war against reason and liberty get started; and how did it so thoroughly succeed in dominating the minds of entire generations of a formerly free people? How could such a noble idea as liberty become so comprehensively undermined and thwarted?

The “Textbook’s” questions and answers speak to this mystery!

THE ATTACK ON LIBERTY & REASON:
Smack in the middle of this little volume is an offering by Leonard Peikoff — an offering which would have baffled me back when I was just beginning to understand the bigger picture of how capitalism fell from favor so precipitously.

It is fascinating to me how our 18th century culture embraced reason and freedom for a short time; how science, individual achievement and industrial civilization all blossomed together as a direct result; how the embrace of liberty and reason was immediately assaulted by the culture’s intellectuals; and how the entire culture quickly turned away from its own Enlightenment roots.

No sooner was America born than the commitment to reason was brought to an end. It seemed as if Aristotle had stirred to life for a brief period; and then Plato rose up and put a boot on the neck of reason and liberty.

AMERICANISM:
My favorite chapter is the one by Brad Thompson — where he colors in some of the details comprising “Americanism” as a state of mind. He instructs us on this state of mind, a state mostly lost to our present generations; he describes a world which would strike most millennials today as a total fantasy. I suspect that the disconnect for millennials is a consequence of our culture being on such a steep trajectory toward embracing the exact opposite of the “Americanism” which Thompson describes.

FREE TRADE:
How many of us retain the perspective that the Boston Tea Party was little more than a protest against trade barriers, including tariffs? With the absurdity of tariffs being touted today as a national salvation, Harry Binswanger points out that the United States had a huge “trade deficit” every year of its fastest period of economic growth: the 19th century. And then he reminds us that the “trade deficit” is precisely what allows the enormous investment in American businesses, which is the core of our economic prosperity.

FOREIGN POLICY:
Elan Journo reminds us of America’s disgraceful foreign policy, where the approach consists in showering our avowed enemies with billions of dollars in aid; in providing moral support for jihadist-enabling regimes; in systematically ignoring the vision of America’s Founders, ignoring the Founders’ groundbreaking identification of the relationship between man and the state.

At every opportunity, America’s rulers refuse to condemn jihadist killers; refuse to condemn Iran even as it blows up American soldiers in Iraq, in Beirut’s marine barracks, at the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon, at the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia; refuse to give moral support to oppressed Iranian citizens protesting the Ayatollahs’ harsh rule.

America has acted consistently in behalf of regimes dedicated to subjugating their own people, as well as anyone else they can get their hands on. America’s rulers won’t even admit that Iran has been at war with us since 1979, for 40 continuous years. Just yesterday (June 2019), the American Secretary of State offered to “talk” with Iran without any conditions — gifting further sanction to the murdering terrorists.

Because America’s rulers refuse to pass moral judgment on the enemy, and because America continues to rebuff its own founding principles, our foreign policy remains a dangerous threat to everyone. Journo’s chapter makes the case that a rational American foreign policy must protect the lives and liberty of Americans.

“A New Textbook of Americanism” does a pretty good job of reminding us what we are giving up; we are giving up a future driven by liberty and reason. I weep for our grandchildren…

[L E X (Analyyttiset kirja-arvostelut) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyseessä on noin 200-sivuinen kirja, jonka runkona toimii Ayn Randin vuonna 1946 kirjoittama Textbook of Americanism -artikkelisarja. Ayn Rand oli tuolloin työskennellyt Yhdysvaltojen elokuvateollisuudessa ja oli huolissaan kommunismin (kollektivismin) leviämisestä valkokankaille. Tuolloin pelättiin, että elokuvia käytettäisiin amerikkalaisvastaiseen propagandaan ja Neuvostoliiton ihannointiin. Rand osallistui vuonna 1944 perustetun Motion Picture Alliance -järjestön toimintaan ja kirjoitti elokuvanteollisuuden vaikuttajille suunnattuja tekstejä, joissa perusteltiin, miksi amerikkalaiset individualistiset ihanteet ovat parempia kuin kollektivismi, ja miksi niillä on merkitystä valkokankaalla. Artikkelisarja ei kuitenkaan muodostunut itsenäiseksi teokseksi, vaan pikemminkin keskeneräiseksi tekstikokoelmaksi. Rand luonnosteli kaikkiaan 41 kysymystä (artikkelia), joihin tarjoaisi vastaukset, mutta ehti käsitellä niistä ainoastaan 12 kappaletta.

Nykyajan tunnetuimmat objektivistit (Ayn Randin filosofian seuraajat) ovat noin 70 vuotta alkuperäisen tekstin jälkeen koonneet ajatuksensa yhteen, ja pyrkineet luomaan vastaukset jäljelle jääneisiin kysymyksiin. Tästä johtuen kirjan nimessä on lisäys "uusi". Vastaukset ovat kuitenkin moderneja eli niissä sivutaan ajankohtaisia tapahtumia aina 2010-luvun lopulle saakka. Kirjassa halutaan osoittaa, kuinka Ayn Randin kehittämä filosofia on edelleen aivan yhtä ajankohtaisia kuin 1940-luvulla - ja ennen kaikkea, kuinka objektivismi on käytännönläheistä eikä vain teoreettista pohdiskelua. Artikkelit ovat suoraviivaisia ja helposti ymmärrettäviä. Punaisena lankana on osoittaa, että jos politiikassa toimitaan tavalla X, siitä seuraa Y, ja mikä on sen suhde yksilönvapauteen. Viesti on se, että valtion säätämät kiellot ja rajoitukset ovat yksilönvapaudelle pääsääntöisesti haitaksi, koska ne rajoittavat ihmisen oikeutta elämään. Teos käsittelee lukuisia teemoja: sananvapautta, enemmistön tyranniaa, diktatuureja, Yhdysvaltojen sisä- ja ulkopolitiikkaa, sosiaaliturvaa, perusoikeuksien alkuperää, moraalia, sotaa, hyvinvointivaltion oikeutusta, alt-rightia, kapitalismia ja monia muita. Klassiseen liberalismiin perehtyneille tämä kirja ei välttämättä tarjoa uutta ja mullistavaa filosofista löytöä, vaan teemat ovat pitkälti entuudestaan tuttuja, joskin tekstit ovat ajankohtaisuudestaan johtuen raikasta luettavaa.

Historiallisesti teos antaa näkymän Randin ajatusmaailmaan hänen kaunokirjallisella kaudellaan, Fountainheadin (1943) ja Atlas Shruggedin (1957) välissä. Jo tässä vaiheessa oli nähtävillä, että Randin ajatukset eivät jäisi vain kaunokirjallisuuden ilmiöksi, vaan ne tulisivat muodostamaan kokonaisen filosofisen järjestelmän. Sisältönsä puolesta tämä kirja sopisi helposti yliopistoon perus- ja aineopintojen kurssikirjallisuudeksi johdatuksena Ayn Randin ajatuksiin ja Aristoteleen hengelliseen perintöön. Tämän teoksen lukeminen ei edellytä aiempaa tietämystä objektivismista tai filosofiasta. Napakasta kirjoitustyylistä johtuen tämä teos on paljon kevyempi luettava kuin Ayn Randin muut kirjalliset tuotokset. 200-sivuiseksi teokseksi tämä ei selvästikään pyri olemaan kaiken kattava objektivismin esitys, mikä käy ilmi myös kirjan nimestä. Mikäli lukija etsii systemaattista perusteosta objektivismista, kannattaa tutustua esimerkiksi seuraaviin julkaisuihin:

* Peikoff, Leonard: Objectivism. The Philopsophy of Ayn Rand
* Kelley, D. & Thomas W.: The Logical Structure of Objectivism

Arvosana: 4/5

[Willard Brickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1946, before she had achieved fame, Ayn Rand wrote a series of articles called A Textbook of Americanism. The series was supposed to consist of twelve articles, but for reasons unexplained she stopped after four. She did, however, leave a list of questions she intended to answer in the other eight, and this book is an effort by modern Objectivists to finish the job.
But it is a superfluous effort, in my opinion, because Rand finished the job in spades when she wrote The Virtue of Selfishness and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. These books address the issues she left unaddressed a couple of decades before, and then some.
But this book has a couple of pieces which make it worth the time and purchase price, in my opinion. The first is a never-before-published Q&A by Rand herself. There is nothing fundamentally new here, but she addresses several issues of government here (e.g., anarchism and a world government) with clarity and eloquence. I recommend it to her admirers. There is also a fine article by Harry Binswanger called " 'Buy American' Is Un-American", in which he criticizes President Trump's economic policies from a free-market perspective. It's wise and timely.
The rest of the book is a presentation of ideas very familiar to any reader of Rand. They will not be particularly informative if you are familiar with her work. And if you aren't, the place to start is Rand herself.

[Gabriella Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The American frontier is not a place on a map; it’s a state of mind—a uniquely American state of mind.

Americanism and its corollary principles of individualism, limited government, and laissez-faire capitalism, have revolutionized human life.

The United States of America was made great precisely
because its “Don’t Tread on Me” philosophy liberated ordinary people to achieve great things both individually and cooperatively. America once was—and can be again—a nation for the ambitious, hard working, creative, productive, adventurous, and entrepreneurial. That is the
meaning of Americanism and the spirit of liberty. We must fight to keep alive the vestal flame of liberty for the new explorers of the twenty-first century and beyond."

Book #24: My friend Jonathan Hoenig sent me a PDF version of the A New Textbook of Americanism to read and review. After much delay, I've finally read it! It's a compact collection of chapters from foremost liberty-minded scholars and advocates on various facets of American society: our founding, freedom vs. collectivism, trade, business, etc. While I'm not a follower of Ayn Rand, I do agree largely with her economics and individual liberty. I disagree with her hatred of Reagan and his views on abortion.

It's always good to read things that challenge you, and this book certainly did. It's just shy of 100 pages, so check it out!

[A.R. Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed with some of the essays in this book. They revealed flaws in what I hoped was more than just a philosophy to believe in, but a system to live by. The cracks are to be found in the places where objectivism meets the real world. Binswanger says, “Individualism regards man as a rational being. Their interests are in harmony. Collectivism regards men as irrational brutes whose interests conflict. It is a dog-eat-dog world.”
I thought the whole point of Atlas Shrugged was when John Galt and others opted out of the larger society and set up their secessionist enclave. If individualism actually worked, their would be no need walk away from the others. The Buy American essay is another case in point. It is claimed that we should buy the best and the cheapest product regardless of where it comes from. No mention is made of the Chinese Communist attempts to steal intellectual property and insert surveillance technology into those products. Sounds like a dog-eat-dog world to me.

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A timely release, as both the political right and left look to be undergoing philosophical transformations--or, at least, disruptions from their typical norms of the past many decades--each with implicit or explicit ideas of what the United States stands for and therefore what it means to be an American. "A New Textbook of Americanism" expands on Ayn Rand's short and unfinished "Textbook of Americanism" and breathes new life into the defense of that unique to the world way of life, Americanism.

C. Bradley Thompson's contribution, Americanism and the Spirit of Liberty, does the best out of all the other contributions to highlight what it means to be an American. He does an excellent job at capturing the adversity faced by our nation's pioneers and their can-do and liberty seeking spirt; and also showing what all that means in the present.

Shortcomings of the book include the way a few contributors mention the current president and the presentation of an incomplete picture of the history of free trade in the United States. For the former, previous presidents are mentioned, properly, with a historical focus; but when the current president is mentioned, the focus changes to the immediate, which will needlessly date the book here in a few years. In regard to the latter, if one were to just read the contributions on free trade, without knowing anything about history, one would walk away with the idea that the United States has been a bastion of free trade since its beginning. However, that would be wrong: the United States was protectionist from the beginning--at a time when Europe was much more free trade than the US--up until after WWII. The first major legislation passed in the country was the Tariff Act of 1789, which wasn't just focused on raising funds, but also with the purpose to protect American industry; and the explosion of American industry happened under extreme economic trade restrictions (very high tariffs and embargos).

Mentioning the incomplete picture presented in the book isn't an argument for protectionism, but instead an acknowledgement of an important fact that needs to be brought to the forefront and discussed. In all of the works by advocates for laissez-faire that I've read, this fact is never addressed. Either they don't know about the history or they are ignoring it. Laws contradicting the essence and founding purpose of the of the United States existed from the nation's beginning. Slavery has been properly addressed as such; the nation's anti-trade history can and should also be acknowledged as such.

[Angel Walker-Werth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good coverage of a variety of modern issues, answers some questions about Objectivist politics I haven't seen elsewhere. Of course with a collection there's always variety in the quality of the essays, and for Rand's contributions, one section was not polished writing but transcribed Q&A. Still, some interesting thoughts

[Josiah R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it's good that this exists as a source for understanding and appreciating some of the ideals that made America what it is. I also found the author's chapter on the "Buy American" theme actually being anti-American to be enlightening.

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saying the same thing 15 different ways.
On the one hand, there’s some good nuggets in there. On the other hand, so does McDonalds.

From the book:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oU2...

[Dwayne Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an extraordinary, principled book on the meaning of Americanism.

[Beth Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book!