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FROM NOVELIST TO PHILOSOPHER, 1944–1957
have been wanting to help me, I think . . . and wanted to contribute to
my relaxing about that kind of thing,” he refl ected later. But at the time
he felt “terribly uncomfortable.” Another violent clash between her and
Mises spelled the end of their relationship. Rand and Mises argued
over conscription, which Rand saw as tantamount to slavery. Mises, his
eyes on history, argued that only conscription could prevent the rise
of dangerous mercenary armies. After the argument Rand telephoned
Cornuelle. She wanted him to make a choice:
“You have to make a decision. You’re either going to continue to be my
disciple or his.” I said, I’d rather duck. She said, “you can’t.” And that was
it. I never spoke to her again after that. . . . She didn’t want me to agree
with her. She wanted me to discontinue my relations with von Mises as a
way of showing I was on her side. 50
Rand now began to demand allegiance from those around her. She
had made “the most consistent arguments” on behalf of a fully integrated
system and cast out those who did not acknowledge her achievement.
The Collective, and Nathaniel Branden in particular, were her replacement.
The bond between the two had grown fast and thick. In New York
Branden became not only Rand’s “brain mate” but her teacher, as he
began to push her philosophical ideas into the realm of psychology.
Branden’s major innovation was the theory of “social metaphysics.” He
developed this concept to describe a person whose frame of reference
was “the consciousness, beliefs, values, perceptions of various other
people.” 51 Branden translated the qualities Rand had celebrated in her
novels into psychological terms. In The Fountainhead Howard Roark’s
stoic disregard for the opinions of others could be understood as a dramatized
ideal, a standard that could inspire despite its unreality. Recast
as a psychological syndrome, the same idea became dangerous, because
it suggested that the abnormal should be normal. Essentially, “social
metaphysics” made everyday human concern with the thoughts and
opinions of others problematic and pathological. It was a judgmental
and reductive concept, a pejorative label that both Branden and Rand
began using freely.
Branden’s new idea was doubly destructive because he employed
it during therapy sessions with members of the Collective and other
interested patients. Indeed, Branden had fi rst derived the idea after
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