An Insight into the Mind of Ayn Rand

Mystery/thriller writer Michael Prescott has looked through the journals of Ayn Rand, and he finds her musing on one William Edward Hickman, who said, "What is good for me is right," which seems to pretty classical Randian Objectivism.

She is enthused about this person, and his philosophy, describing it as, "The best and strongest expression of a real man's psychology I have heard."

While Mr. Hickman is fairly obscure these days, unless you are a lawyer, in which case it is one of the earliest attempts at an insanity defense, he was well known during his day, basically 1927 and 1928, because he kidnapped a 12 year old girl, ransomed her, and dismembered her.

And Ayn Rand calls what he did a, "Real man's philosophy."

If there were any doubt as to her being evil, it is ended. If there were any doubt as to her sanity, those doubts are reinforced.

I will leave you with the last two 'graphs, but please read the rest, but be warned, the specifics of the murder are grisly:

By the appraisal of any normal mind, there can be little doubt that William Edward Hickman was a vicious psychopath of the worst order. That Ayn Rand saw something heroic, brilliant, and romantic in this despicable creature is perhaps the single worst indictment of her that I have come across. It is enough to make me question not only her judgment, but her sanity.

At this point in my life, I did not think it was possible to significantly lower my estimate of Ayn Rand, or to regard her as even more of a psychological and moral mess than I had already taken her to be.

I stand corrected.