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RADICALS FOR CAPITALISM 207
walked a careful line, making use of JBS volunteers who did not publicize
their membership. 43
Rand was not bothered by the charges against the JBS, which she characterized
as “an artifi cial and somewhat unworthy strawman.” She had
lunch with Welch in Boston before her fi rst Ford Hall Forum appearance;
apparently it was a successful encounter despite their differences. Welch
followed up with a copy of Grace Lumpkin’s anti-Communist religious
autobiography, noting that Rand might disagree with the theme but still
fi nd it of interest. The JBS even had a form letter of sorts for Objectivists
who inquired about membership. “Since Miss Rand is an avowed atheist,
she would certainly not follow the Society in its insistence that its members
believe in God,” the letter read, continuing, “Any support, however,
which you might be able to give to the principles of less government,
more individual responsibility, and a better world, outside membership
in the Society, would certainly be appreciated.” To Rand the JBS was
simply another group of misguided religious conservatives. She didn’t
understand the extent to which the society had become synonymous
in the popular mind with incipient fascism and totalitarian mob rule.
The JBS had even been widely—and falsely—linked with the Kennedy
assassination. It struck fear into the hearts of liberal commentators, ever
alert for demagogues after an era of totalitarianism. By contrast Rand
wondered, “What, exactly, is the evil of the so-called ‘radical right?’ ” It
couldn’t be racism, she argued, for “the main, active body of racists in
this country” were southern Democrats. 44
Rand viewed the charge of racism as a smokescreen for liberal opposition
to capitalism. In her mind Goldwater’s defense of capitalism
explained his popularity, for the main issue of the age was capitalism
versus socialism. In a postmortem on the Republican convention she
wrote, “Now consider the term extremism. Its alleged meaning is: ‘intolerance,
hatred, racism, bigotry, crackpot theories, incitement to violence.’
Its real meaning is: ‘the advocacy of capitalism.’ ” 45 To some degree
Rand had a point. Liberal commentators appeared especially incredulous
at the mention of libertarian ideas, and support for the Liberty
Amendment, a proposal to ban the income tax, ran high among Birchers.
But free markets were only a piece of the larger JBS worldview, which
included staunch opposition to civil rights and anti-Communism à la
McCarthy. With her single-minded focus on capitalism, Rand missed
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