Ayn Rand: A Leading Lady of the Classical Liberal Tradition

Jennifer Burns

Jennifer Burns is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Virginia, where she teaches courses on American political, cultural, and intellectual history. Burns is the author Goddess of the Market: Ayn Rand and the American Right, a thoughtful biography of Ayn Rand.

How should we understand Ayn Rand’s political thought? Prof. Jennifer Burns argues that Rand was a part of the broad classical liberal tradition. Rand’s novels, including Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead, emphasize individualism, a fundamental theme in classical liberal/​libertarian thought. Rand also contributed to that tradition by modernizing and popularizing the ideas, which lead to the creation of new social movements for freedom in the 20th century.

For more, visit Learn​Lib​er​ty​.org.