David Kelley on Ayn Rand and the Rebirth of Liberty

Kelley talks about Ayn Rand’s contribution to the free-​market individualist movement.

David Kelley

David Kelley is a political philosopher, writer, and the executive director of the Atlas Society. Kelley is a strong proponent of objectivism and has published a wide range of literature including A Life of One’s Own (1998) and The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand (2000).

David Kelley is a political philosopher, writer, and the executive director of the Atlas Society. Kelley is a strong proponent of Objectivism and has published a wide range of literature including A Life of One’s Own (1998) and The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand (2000).

In this lecture, which was given at the International Society for Individual Liberty’s 1991 conference, Kelley talks about Ayn Rand’s contribution to the free-​market individualist movement. He says that as Aristotle defined metaphysical individualism, the Austrian economists defined methodological individualism, and John Locke and other Enlightenment philosophers defined political individualism, Ayn Rand defined ethical individualism and cognitive individualism through her philosophy, Objectivism. Kelley also answers an extensive list of questions from the audience about everything from epistemology to metaphysics.