The Age of Selfishness : Ayn Rand, Morality, and the Financial Crisis

New York Times bestseller Tracing the emergence of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism in the 1940s to her present-day influence, Darryl Cunningham’s latest work of graphic-nonfiction investigation leads readers to the heart of the global financial crisis of 2008. Cunningham uses Rand’s biography to illuminate the policies that led to the economic crash in the U.S. and in Europe, and how her philosophy continues to affect today’s politics and policies, starting with her most noted disciple, economist Alan Greenspan (former chairman of the Federal Reserve). Cunningham also shows how right-wing conservatives, libertarians, and the Tea Party movement have co-opted Rand’s teachings (and inherent contradictions) to promote personal gain and profit at the expense of the middle class. Tackling the complexities of economics by distilling them down to a series of concepts accessible to all age groups, Cunningham ultimately delivers a devastating analysis of our current economic world. Praise for Darryl Cunningham: “It takes other authors whole books to say what Darryl Cunningham can say in a single illustration.” —Jon Ronson, author of The Men Who Stare at Goats “Cunningham’s art has clean lines and a continuity that is often graceful, charming, and endearing. He speaks with quiet authority on his subjects, but is careful to cite a whole range of sources and research papers.” — Independent “It’s good to see the arguments presented so well, clearly, and concisely . . . Cunningham delivers his message with style, great art, even moments of outright comedy."— Forbidden Planet “A sympathetic but deeply critical biography of [Ayn] Rand and the eventual role of libertarian philosophy in the recent financial crisis” (The New York Times Book Review). Tracing the emergence of Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism in the 1940s to her present-day influence, Darryl Cunningham's latest work of investigative graphic nonfiction leads readers to the heart of the global financial crisis of 2008. Cunningham uses Rand's biography to illuminate the policies that led to the economic crash in the United States and in Europe, and how her philosophy continues to affect today's politics and policies, starting with her most noted disciple, economist Alan Greenspan (former chairman of the Federal Reserve). Cunningham also shows how right-wing conservatives, libertarians, and the Tea Party movement have co-opted Rand's teachings (and inherent contradictions) to promote personal gain and profit at the expense of the middle class. Tackling the complexities of economics by distilling them down to a series of concepts accessible to all age groups, Cunningham ultimately delivers a devastating analysis of our current economic world. “This book is a superb example of how powerful graphic nonfiction can be in taking complex events and making them frighteningly clear.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “There are moments of brilliance here and excellent economic explication.” —Library Journal “This is a well-researched, detail-packed book that I'll need to read a few more times to fully digest.” —Boing Boing Tracking the emergence of Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism in the 1940s to her present-day influence, Darryl Cunningham's latest work of graphic-nonfiction investigation leads readers to the heart of the global financial crisis of 2008. By tracing the roots of our bankrupt economies, Cunningham uses Rand's biography to illuminate the policies that led to the economic crash in the US and in Europe; he shows how Rand became one of the most influential writers of her time; and he demonstrates how her philosophy continues to affect today's politics and policies, starting with her most noted disciple, economist Alan Greenspan (former chairman of the Federal Reserve). Cunningham also shows how right-wing conservatives, libertarians, and the rise of the Tea Party movement have co-opted Rand's teachings (and inherent contradictions) to promote personal gain and profit at the expense of the 47 percent. Tackling the complexities of economics by distilling them down to a series of concepts accessible to all age groups, Cunningham ultimately delivers a devastating analysis of our current economic world Front Cover Endpaper 1 Endpaper 2 Endpaper 3 i ii iii iv v vi vii viii 001 002 003 004 005 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 027 028 029 030 031 032 033 034 035 036 037 038 039 040 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 052 053 054 055 056 057 058 059 060 061 062 063 064 065 066 067 068 069 070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 079 080 081 082 083 084 085 086 087 088 089 090 091 092 093 094 095 096 097 098 099 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 Endpaper 4 Endpaper 5 Endpaper 6 Back Cover Using Rand's biography to illuminate the policies that led to the economic crash in the U.S. and in Europe and the global financial crisis of 2008, Cunningham shows how her philosophy continues to affect today's politics and policies, starting with her most noted disciple, economist Alan Greenspan (former chairman of the Federal Reserve). Cunningham also shows how right-wing conservatives, libertarians, and the Tea Party movement have co-opted Rand's teachings (and inherent contradictions) to promote personal gain and profit at the expense of the middle class.