How Bioshock Savaged the Politics of Ayn Rand

Would you kindly return to Rapture? With the release of Bioshock: The Collection, it’s time to remind ourselves that the trilogy was so much more than just a simple shooter. With its high-art pretensions, this trilogy that could seriously be considered literary, with themes and characters and storytelling capable of being dissected in the same way films and books can be. Literary elements and thought experiments pepper all the Bioshock games – it’s what gives it its edge. And that all starts with author and political ideologue, Ayn Rand.

Here's how Bioshock skewered her politics.

[LordMaim]

Ayn Rand's personal life exposed the hypocrisy of her own politics and philosophies.

[Raevenlord]

How so?

Philosophy is, by definition, an abstraction. One can think of different systems of ethics and values without adhering to them. How is that, in itself, hypocritical?

By your line of reasoning, Orwell's literature is hypocritical, since he conceived totalitarian, technological regimes in his books, whilst being a real-life socialist.

[Concertoine]

Orwell just criticized those regimes, though. Rand was, through critique, trying to give people her idea of a perfect system.

Not familiar enough with Rand to call her a hypocrite though.

I was never sure what Bioshock was trying to say. The danger of a religious-less society? The danger of unrestricted scientific progress? The danger of libertarian politics?

I always just thought of it as a good story. If anyone has any other interpretations, im curious.

[assdan]

Ayn rand had severe money and health problems as she got older larhely do to her chain smoking habit. She lived of the government's dime, which is incredibly hypocritical of her.

[LordMaim]

Her philosophy has at its core a reverence for creation, truth and human achievement, meanwhile demonizing compromise, altruism and charity. Look into her love life, the schisms in the Objectivist movement and the making of the Fountainhead movie, and you'll see some stark differences between the appearance and the reality.

Edit: Regarding Orwell, I don't recall that he ever tried to create a cult of personality around himself.

[Raevenlord]

@LordMaim

I admit I don't know much about her personal life, nor the schisms in the Objectivist movement, but I do "understand" (as much as one can) her work and am familiar with it and its premises. And I personally can't agree with her POV and line of reasoning, and think its bottom line is one who can't lead to an utopian society (as far off as that is from reality.)

That said, you're clearly knowledgeable about this, so you surely understood what I was referring to when I mentioned Orwell. Not a direct comparison, simply supporting that I believe that she can't really be called hypocritical in regards to how she thought and how she actually acted. At least not in philosophy, I don't believe that applies.

At least in this page there are some actual debates and conversations, and that is a far cry from other N4G posts, so kudos to all of you!

[opinionated]

Lol Did you really just call Andrew Ryan Jim jones? You big dummy. "You can thank Ryan for this" lol no. Ryan wasn't the villain, human nature is the villain. That's what makes this game genius and any form of utopia impossible. Ryan went from "no gods or kings, only man" to becoming a ruthless dictator to protect his vision. In tapes you can hear him supporting Fontaine, telling someone to stop his monopoly "create a better product". You touch on this when you said there will always be someone to manipulate and exploit a completely free market. It forced his hand to become what he hated. Your blame on the Ryan character tells me you don't know her politics, your just a collectivist that's giddy over the thought of someone trashing her.

Bioshock 2 skewered collectivism the same way. Infinite skewered nationalism and patriotism. They are great games and you're not completely wrong but I think your motivation clouds your reason.

[gamespulp]

Thanks for stopping by. Always great to stir a debate. This was approached without personal politics involved - we could in no way be described as collectivist over here (we kinda dig on freedom and liberty, sitting firmly on the centre-ground). it's like we said, Bioshock shows us the logical end-point of serving only the self. It's just that many critics and theorists are pretty anti-Rand, so we work with what we've got.

We'd say Jim Jones is a pretty accurate real-world example (albeit on the other side of the political spectrum), because just like Ryan he fooled followers into believing he could show them a better world. He couldn't. It just ended in murder. It always does, always will (always a lighthouse...). Ryan is the cynical embodiment of human nature, as per Rand's concept of the ideal man. The pinnacle of perfection.

Would love to know more about your thoughts on Bioshock 2 and Infinite though.

[Concertoine]

Jim Jones was also just plain crazy though, as a religious zealot. He found weak people and took them in to increase his own influence.

Ryan genuinely thought he figured out the problems of the world and felt his city would be standing long after everything else. He was just wrong, not particularly manipulative.

[opinionated]

I'm not hating on your opinion I just completely disagree. Ryan is probably my favorite video game character of all time. Easily one of the best written characters in gaming. Bioshock shows us the extreme case of any utopia. Ryan was an individualist but rapture was a community. They just aren't bound by laws or gods. Absolute freedom is a selfish cause for self dependent people. People who are anti-rand are usually Marxists. They claim her philosophy to be fiction while supporting a failed philosophy that's even more fantasy based.

I think Jim jones is a terrible example. Jim jones was a cult leader that lead people to mass suicide. Ryan didn't create his utopia to bring people down there to off themselves lol. He took the best and brightest, page for page atlas shrugged. A utopia of self reliant people who who wouldn't be bound by morality or government. Ryan is the embodiment of Ayn Rand (and RAyn). Rapture is the inevitable process of any utopia due to human nature.

For instance, in Bioshock 2 Sofia Lamb is the polar opposite of Andrew Ryan. Instead of "ultra-selfish" she was "ultra-selfless". He hired her to be the psychologist and she started seeding her collectivism in people's minds. She probably caused the beginnings of the fall. Imagine a communist in a individualist utopia. She is more like a cult leader than Ryan IMO. She had the religious following and revolt. She wanted to trade free will and free enterprise for the mind control used on the bio1 protagonist on all people. She's Orwellian 1984 and it's just as bad lol. Same with the comstock and white nationalism. The Bioshock series takes all of these ideologies to the extreme. You can't really say they "debunked" her philosophy because it's an extreme example lol. That's like saying socialism doesn't work because communism doesn't.

[gamespulp]

The point with Jones, though, relates to Petrich's quote that Bioshock is ‘not simply a critique on Rand’s ideal society of pure reason. It’s a critique of any ideal, “planned” society.’ Whether that's an underwater city or a commune in Guyana. Doesn't matter their reasons for doing it, they all end the same way - with a high body count.

All philosophies are flawed. Bioshock is just a beautiful thought experiment which attempts to show that.

[opinionated]

I agree. I don't think the blame can be put on Ryan though. He was stead fast in his principles, the people of rapture weren't.

It was a thoughtful attempt and I personally think they succeeded in all three. Levine is an awesome game writer, probably the best.

Edit@raevenlord below
lol it's not a debate really, I just disagree on specifics in the article. I agree with the fact that an ayn rand inspired character created an underwater utopia and it went to shit. I disagree with the premise that it's the philosophy that got shit on. He took the most productive people on the planet and it still didn't work. Nothing works, gamespulp is right. Human Nature always wins. Human error will always fuck up the perfect idea. Whether it's giving people absolute freedom or taking away peoples humanity by removing free will as an individual.

I also disagree that it's a "left winger attempt to trash libertarianism." It's a game.. Casually walking through a ultra-efficient city in the sea would be cool and all but a run down dystopia filled with power junkies was a much cooler concept. I think they portray Ryan well, it wasn't a diss on ayn rand IMO. Ryan was understandably pissed lol. He wasn't the enemy, he was just played like a flute by better opportunists which made him go crazy like everyone else. Not Sander Cohen crazy but suddenly laws and restrictions were necessary. They weren't isolated until he made it so to quell rebellion. Would rapture have worked with some law in the beginning instead of after it went into chaos? Maybe. It's possible and that's why it's good writing.

And I want to emphasize GAME writing for Levine. There are a handful of cutscenes in Bioshock 1. There is a deep narrative without the movie tricks. The walls talk. I think movie writing and the cinematic approach is overshadowing those games these days. I think that's why nioh is my most anticipated.

[Raevenlord]

@opinionated @gamescult

I agree with opinionated in regards to both Ryan's character and Ken Levine's writing. He brings art to what is an otherwise (albeit improving) deep-narrative absent medium.

That said, and again, props for the debate. Please do carry on. Much rather pick up popcorn for this than for some random fanboy war.

[InMyOpinion]

Objectivism is more or less psycopathy in philosophic form.

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

You have a fundamental misunderstanding of what Objectivism is.

[annoyedgamer]

You misunderstand objectivism. You are mixing cultural identity with objectivism.

[InMyOpinion]

What it all boils down to is that selfishness is good and collectivism is bad. Wrapped in a million words (When Atlas shrugged)...

[annoyedgamer]

I was hoping we could avoid diving into the political commentary and just enjoy the game for what it is/was. But times have changed. Now it will likely be hijacked by statists and be used to push their agenda soon. It will get ugly.