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LEGACIES
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nine antidraft groups and others dedicated to antiwar, antitax, abortion
rights, mental health, gun control, women’s liberation, gay liberation,
legal defense, and marijuana legalization. 29
SIL was supported in its mission by hundreds of libertarian magazines
that mushroomed in the early 1970s, many of them Objectivist
in orientation. During the early years libertarian periodicals essentially
were the movement. Grassroots magazines and newsletters helped create
a dense, thriving network out of far-fl ung local groups, fl edgling business
enterprises, and scattered efforts at political activism. As essential
as magazines were, however, they were far from glamorous. Most were
little more than mimeographed leafl ets started by college students.
The A Is A Directory, an annual libertarian index named for Rand’s
favorite Aristotelian principle, warned readers of the magazines it listed
“to be prepared for inconsistency” and admitted, “Writing, editing, and
printing are apt to be poor.” 30 Many magazines took their cue from
Rand’s publications, including political commentary, cultural analysis,
and romantic fi ction in their offerings. Of the 128 magazines listed in
the 1972 A Is A Directory, more than thirty had an explicit Objectivist or
Objectivist-friendly orientation. Objectivism was by far the most popular
affi liation, with generic anarcho-capitalism running a distant second
with nine periodicals. 31
Rand had little appreciation for her new fan base. During her annual
public appearances she called libertarians “scum,” “intellectual cranks,”
and “plagiarists.” Because she defi ned Objectivism as her personal property,
she viewed libertarian use of her ideas as theft. What others would
see as tribute or recognition of her work, Rand defi ned as “cashing in”
or plagiarism. “If such hippies hope to make me their Marcuse, it will
not work,” she wrote sourly. 32 Her comment was not far off the mark, for
Rand’s writings were a sort of ur-text for the libertarian movement. They
could be challenged, interpreted, reinterpreted, adopted, celebrated—
but never ignored. Whether she liked it or not, libertarians would always
consider Rand a vital part of their intellectual heritage.
The source of Rand’s appeal to the new libertarian movement was multifold.
On the most basic level, her ideas and fi ctional characters served
as an easy shorthand and a way to cement bonds between likeminded
individuals. No matter their current political allegiance, Objectivist,
anarchist, minarchist, or somewhere in between, reading Rand had been
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