CLIQUES

It’s not easy replacing 2,000 years of Judeo-Christian heritage with an ego-driven “man is an end in himself” philosophy. But that goal, espoused in the 1940s and ‘50s by late objectivist philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand, is alive and well and living at the 9-year-old Ayn Rand Institute in Marina del Rey. “Our best sales tool is Rand’s novels--they dramatize her philosophy,” says institute director Michael Berliner, former Cal State Northridge education chair. Teen-agers, he says, identify with Rand’s concept of man as a heroic being, concerned only with happiness, work and the ability to reason. To help promote objectivism, the institute, among other things, encourages splinter groups on college campuses and sponsors a national essay contest asking high school students to discuss Rand’s ideology. First prize is $5,000. About 3,000 students participate each year.

“We’re trying to reach young people early, before their minds are destroyed by progressive education and by cynical, anti-reason philosophies like politically correct thinking,” Berliner says.