The Most Influential Women Behind American Libertarianism | INSIDE THE BOOK: Freedom’s Furies

Timothy Sandefur examines their lives, ideas, and influences in the context of their times.
 

Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand defected from the U.S.S.R. and came to the the U.S., where her anti-collectivist writings formed the intellectual basis for Objectivism.

Rose Wilder Lane

One of the few true mothers of American libertarianism, Rose Wilder Lane promoted freedom and individualism in her writings and her personal life.

Isabel Paterson

Isabel Paterson was a Canadian-​American libertarian writer and literary critic, best known for her book The God of the Machine.

In 1943, three books appeared that changed American politics forever: Isabel Paterson’s The God of the Machine, Rose Wilder Lane’s The Discovery of Freedom, and Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. Together, they laid the groundwork for what became the modern libertarian movement.

Working against the backdrop of changes in literature and politics, they joined forces to rally the nation to the principles of freedom that had come under attack at home and abroad. Now, for the first time, author Timothy Sandefur examines their lives, ideas, and influences in the context of their times.