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Ayn Rand Institute

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The Ayn Rand Institute: The Center for the Advancement of Objectivism (ARI) is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit think tank in Irvine, California that promotes Ayn Rand's philosophy, called Objectivism. It was established in 1985, three years after Ayn Rand's death, by Leonard Peikoff, Rand's legal heir. Its executive director is Yaron Brook. Its stated goal is:

...to spearhead a cultural renaissance that will reverse the anti-reason, anti-individualism, anti-freedom, anti-capitalist trends in today's culture. The major battleground in this fight for reason and capitalism is the educational institutions—high schools and, above all, the universities, where students learn the ideas that shape their lives.^[1]

ARI is mainly an educational organization, but also has "outreach programs". Its various programs include teaching classes on Objectivism and related subjects through its Objectivist Academic Center, giving public lectures, writing Op-Eds, writing letters to the editor, sponsoring essay competitions on Ayn Rand's novels, providing materials for Objectivst campus clubs, giving Ayn Rand's writings to schools and professors, and having its intellectuals interviewed on radio and TV programs.

1 History and Context
2 Programs
3 Views on Religion in Politics
4 Views on Islam and the War on Terror
5 Environmentalism and animal rights
6 Diversity, affirmative action, and multiculturalism
7 Charitable status
8 See also
9 References
10 External links

History and Context

Leonard Peikoff, Ayn Rand's legal and intellectual heir, founded the Ayn Rand Institute in 1985. Both Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff expressed negative thoughts toward formal, bureaucratic organizations designed to promote Objectivism. Specifically, Ayn Rand was against Objectivism becoming an organized movement (especially her "leading" an organized movement), but approved of rational individuals with the same ideas working toward a common goal (It can be said and objectively shown that ARI does not "lead" an "organized movement" like a political party with ranks and dues, etc.)^[2]. Leonard Peikoff was initially weary of creating ARI, but was eventually persuaded to do so. He formally commented in 2006 that he approves of the work ARI has done^[3]. The Institute was originally headquartered in Marina del Rey, California and its executive direct or was Dr. Mike Berliner. In 2000, Dr. Yaron Brook replaced Dr. Berliner as executive director and the Institute was moved to Irvine, California.

Programs

The Ayn Rand Institute has two sorts of programs, educational and outreach programs. Educational programs: The Funnel The overall structure of ARI's educational programs is what they call a funnel^[4], designed to get as many people to read Ayn Rand as possible, as early in their lives as possible. Free Books to Teachers ARI offers to give classroom sets of Ayn Rand's novels such as Anthem, The Fountainhead, and recently, Atlas Shrugged to high schools^[5]. ARI also continues this program up to the university-level by offering professors free review copies of Ayn Rand's writings. Essay Contests on Ayn Rand's Novels ARI offers essay contests on Ayn Rand's Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged. Students from all across the United States and in some cases the world submit essays on questions about Ayn Rand's novels which stress her ideas and their importance in today's world.^[6] The Anthem essay contest is for 9th and 10th graders with a top prize of $ 2,000. The Fountainhead essay contest is for 11th and 12th graders with a top prize of $10,000. The Atlas Shrugged essay contest is for High School seniors enter college and all full time college students with a top prize of $10,000.^[7] In total, The Institute offers $81,250 in Prize Money and 521 Prizes for the 2008 contests.^[8] Campus Clubs ARI offers copies of essays, pamphlets, and recorded lectures, and live speakers to Objectivist clubs at universities and high schools.^[9] The Objectivist Academic Center The Institute runs an educational program called The Objectivist Academic Center, or the OAC which offers classes on Objectivism and related fields. It is the first and only education program of its kind. Student Assistance ARI offers financial assistance to students applying to graduate school and offers mentors for OAC students, among other things. Professor Outreach ARI offers free copies of Ayn Rand's books to professors, and offers them syllabi which include Ayn Rand for their classes, and classroom sets of books. Media appearances Intellectuals from ARI often appear on radio and television, and their Op-Eds and letters to the editor appear in many major newspapers. Public Lectures ARI fellows give regular public lectures in Orange County, California, and also lectures on college campuses across the country, among other places. Ayn Rand Bookstore ARI operates the Ayn Rand Bookstore, which offers lectures and other materials from Objectivists. Objectivist Conferences ARI offers a conference during the summer which features lectures and dance classes from Objectivists.

Views on Religion in Politics

Atheism being a tenet of Objectivism, the Institute promotes the separation of church and state, and its writers argue that the Religious Right is a threat to individual rights [1]. The Institute also supports abortion rights, including intact dilation and extraction [2], and voluntary euthanasia [3]. Its writers have argued against displaying religious symbols (such as the Ten Commandments) in government facilities [4] and against faith-based initiatives [5]. The Institute argues that religion is incompatible with American ideals [6] and opposes the teaching of intelligent design in public schools [7].

Views on Islam and the War on Terror

The Institute has taken many controversial positions with respect to the Islamic world. They hold that the motivation for Islamic terrorism comes from Islam, and not "poverty" nor is it a reaction to Western policies[8]. Their general position is that the US must use overwhelming, retaliatory force (using whatever means necessary to end the threats to the US) to "end states who sponsor terrorism"[9]:

The choice today is mass death in the United States or mass death in the terrorist nations. Our Commander-In-Chief must decide whether it is his duty to save Americans or the governments who conspire to kill them.

--Leonard Peikoff from his article "Ends States Who Sponsor Terrorism", which was published as a full page ad in the New York Times

It has started what it calls a Free Speech Campaign in response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy. Though some at the Institute initially supported the invasion of Iraq, it now opposes how the Iraq War is being handled [10]. The Institute has held that Iran should be the first target in the war against "Islamic totalitarianism" since October 2, 2001[11] The Institute is generally supportive of Israel [12], though critical of Zionism [13].

Environmentalism and animal rights

Main article: Objectivism and Environmentalism

The Ayn Rand Institute is highly critical of environmentalism and animal rights, arguing that they are destructive of human well-being [14] [15].

Diversity, affirmative action, and multiculturalism

The Institute is also highly critical of diversity and affirmative action programs, as well as multiculturalism, arguing that they are based on racist premises [16] [17].

Charitable status

Charity Navigator, which rates charitable and educational organizations to inform potential donors, gives the Institute three out of four stars. According to the latest data from Charity Navigator, the Institute spends 80.6% of its expenses on programs, 11.3% on fundraising, and only 8% on administration.[18].