Ayn Rand’s Vibrator
Masochism as Conservative Style
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6226505 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Russ Castronovo (0000-0003-3254-4726, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1-29 |
| Publication date | 2019-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | boundary 2 (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0190-3659 • E-ISSN: 1527-2141 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1215/01903659-7859117 |
| OpenAlex | W2981481126 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 27 |
By treating conservatism as a style of thought, this essay examines how a flair for abjuring the social contract, social welfare, socialism, indeed, society itself provides pleasure from the pain of violation and lost autonomy. The innovation of Ayn Rand’s writing is to make this victimization sexy. For the Randian conservative who feels abused by the social welfare schemes of the liberal state, masochism restores autonomy by making the individual the sole author of his or her pain. Masochism allows Rand’s readers to wring intense satisfaction from feelings of vulnerability that notions of consent force on individuals. Rand’s penchant for imagining a literally libidinal economy hardly defines the tastes of conservatism tout court. Nevertheless, the masochistic erotic formations in her novels constitute a defining feature of an ideology that views government as a pain
Aesthetics · Art · Autonomy · Conservatism · Ideology · Literature · Objectivism · Political science · Psychoanalysis · Sociology · Style (visual arts · American Political and Social Dynamics · Ayn Rand and Brontë studies · Contemporary Literature and Criticism · Law · Philosophy · Psychology
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The Reactionary Mind
Capitalism and Freedom
Qué pasa con Kansas?
Reflections on the Revolution in France
The Second Treatise of Government
Sensational Flesh
The Conservative Tradition in America
The Gold Standard and the Logic of Naturalism
The Conservative Tradition in America
The Consent of the Governed
The Paranoid Style in American Politics. And Other Essays
The Gold Standard and the Logic of Naturalism
On Capitalism and Freedom
"Freud's "Economic Hypothesis
What's the Matter with Kansas
The Long Con
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,4 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2025 (5) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |