Ayn Rand was born on Feb. 2, 1905, one hundred twenty years ago this week, and died on Mar. 6, 1982.
Ayn Rand is world-renowned because of her pro-capitalist novels, such as Atlas Shrugged, which continue to sell hundreds of thousands of copies every year. Yet her nonfiction writing and public lectures are just as compelling as her novels and often prescient. For instance, nearly 50 years ago, just prior to the Bakke case—where the Supreme Court upheld affirmative action in college admissions—Rand said “reverse discrimination quotas” were “vicious” and “un-American,” and she hoped one day the court would eliminate them.
That hope was answered in 2023 when the high court ruled that affirmative action in college admissions was unconstitutional. More recently, the Trump administration ended affirmative action and DEI policies in all federal operations by executive order on January 21. There is no doubt that Rand would have applauded these steps to end race-based public policies.
During a lecture at Northeastern University on April 16, 1978, Rand was asked, “What do you think of the upcoming Regents of the University of California v. Bakke Supreme Court affirmative action case?”
Rand replied that she supported Allan Bakke, a white student denied admission to UC’s medical school, “because if one is not a racist, one cannot have reverse discrimination quotas. Racial quotas are vicious in any form, at any time, in any place, and for any purpose whatsoever. The whole affirmative action program is vicious. It isn’t profiting anybody. It isn’t improving the lot of the minorities.”
“It is giving jobs and patronage and pull to leaders of minority groups—and observe that only the racists that got themselves organized get anything out of it, if you call it an advantage,” she said.
Rand continued, “I think it’s as unfair, un-American, and unjust as any current action, and I hope to God that the Supreme Court will be brave enough to forbid it once and for all in every form whatsoever. We are supposed to be color-blind, and that’s what we should be.”
The Supreme Court in Regents of Univ. of California v. Bakke ruled that the use of racial quotas was unconstitutional but that race could still be considered in student admissions. It was not until June 29, 2023—45 years after Rand’s comments—that the court ruled affirmative action in school admissions was unconstitutional, a violation of the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. (See Students for Fair Admissions Inc v. President and Fellows of Harvard College.)
In that decision, Chief Justice John Roberts said that when reviewing a college application, the university must treat the student “based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race.” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that “the universities’ admissions policies” are “race-based preferences” that “fly in the face of our colorblind Constitution and our Nation’s equality ideal. In short, they are plainly—and boldly—unconstitutional.”
President Trump’s January 21 executive order is titled, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-based Opportunity.” The action eliminates affirmative action in all federal contracting and hiring and removes all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, offices, and personnel in the federal government. Further, the rule requires the attorney general and the Secretary of Education to issue guidance to colleges and universities and state/local agencies that receive federal funding to comply with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision against affirmative action.
The order states that, “Hardworking Americans who deserve a shot at the American Dream should not be stigmatized, demeaned, or shut out of opportunities because of their race or sex.”
While Rand was prescient in her 1978 remarks against affirmative action, it is interesting to note that she was way ahead of the curve in a 1963 essay detailing how modern liberals were advocating racial quotas in work and academia as another means of collectivism, i.e., group identity politics.
In the essay, “Racism,” written 62 years ago and included in her book, The Virtue of Selfishness, Rand said, “Those who deny individual rights, cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. … Instead of fighting against racial discrimination, they [modern liberals] are demanding that racial discrimination be legalized and enforced. Instead of fighting against racism, they are demanding the establishment of racial quotas. Instead of fighting for ‘color-blindness’ in social and economic issues, they are proclaiming that ‘color-blindness’ is evil and that ‘color’ should be made a primary consideration. Instead of fighting for equal rights, they are demanding special race privileges.”
She added, “They are demanding that racial quotas be established in regard to employment and that jobs be distributed on a racial basis, in proportion to the percentage of a given race among the local population. … Racial quotas have been one of the worst evils of racist regimes.”
The drive to end affirmative action and DEI is not over, but the steps by the Supreme Court and the administration are welcome and long overdue. Happy birthday, Ayn Rand!
To learn more about Ayn Rand and pro-freedom ideas, see the new Cato book, Modern Libertarianism: a Brief History of Classical Liberalism in the United States, which will be released on February 25.