Objectivists and Objectivism

In 1987 I attended a summer conference of Ayn Rand’s philosophy called Objectivism. The conference was held at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla and was attended by the Who’s Who of Objectivism. It was organized by George Reisman and his wife, Edith Packer. George Reisman was an economics professor at Pepperdine University and a prominent Objectivist.

The UCSD campus was high up on a rock overlooking the ocean. It was a beautiful and clean campus. Perfect weather. It was great to be there, and to be alive. I was only 22 years old then. I didn’t have much of an education, but I had a great interest in ideas after reading The Fountainhead.

I also didn’t have much money. I was working as a waiter in Dallas, Texas. I had only enough money to purchase the lectures and couldn’t afford the whole package which included the housing and cafeteria meals for two weeks. I had only arrived with one small suitcase, a round-trip plane ticket, and my total savings: several hundred dollars. Two years earlier, I attended The Jefferson School with my then girlfriend Monique, I was hoping to see her there again.

I had no idea where I would be spending the night. But that made it all the more adventurous, I had told myself. I had also purchased a ticket for the opening banquet, which was held at a nice restaurant overlooking the ocean.

On the opening night when I entered the banquet room, I immediately saw Jeff Scott. We were both delighted to see each other since we hadn’t seen each other in a very long time. There were other young people that I recognized as well. And I was beginning to feel relaxed and at home. But this one question kept lingering in my mind: Where would I be spending the night? I told Jeff about my problem, and he said he would help me find a solution. But in the meantime, I had a plan of my own.

Right before the banquet dinner was about to commence, I approached the table of Dr. Reisman and asked him if there were any vacant dorms available. It had been my thinking that as a free-enterprise economist, Dr. Reisman would appreciate seeing a young man like me struggling to attend his conference. It had been my thinking also that Dr. Reisman would rather have rented a room to me at a discounted price than allow it to remain vacant. But my thinking had been all wrong. Dr. Reisman looked at me with some suspicion and said slowly: “There are units available.” He then paused and said mysteriously: “I will discuss this with you after dinner.” But he never did.

But just as I was about to feel discouraged, Jeff enthusiastically waved me over to his table and introduced me to Joseph. Lucky for me, Joseph had arrived at the Jefferson School in a recreational vehicle (RV) and had a spare bed. The RV was an old red pick-up truck with a white shell on top of it. Still there was plenty of room for two.

There were several people who I recognized at the opening party, one was Carl. Carl had been a regular visitor at Jeffrey’s apartment as well. And he and Jeff had been economics students at San Francisco State University (SSU) and both had been active in the SSU Objectivist Club. When Jeff first petitioned SSU to establish this club, the college president denied his petition but Jeff fought back and won. Thereafter he became a notorious figure on campus with both students and faculty.

Jeffrey’s table was comprised of the young crowd. Being that Jeff was always cheerful and humorous, he had become the de facto leader of this group. Before becoming an Objectivist, Jeff was a lead singer in a rock band and had developed a large and enthusiastic following. And now, among so many nerdy Objectivist types, he was the “cool” person to be around.

After dinner, there was a band and several people danced. I asked Dr. Reisman’s wife if she wanted to dance, and she did with great delight and enthusiasm. I think she really liked to dance. Some Objectivists seemed to find this amusing, others seemed perplexed, and Dr. Reisman seemed thoroughly irritated.

After the banquet, Joseph drove the RV to the UCSD campus where he would park it for the overnight stay. After taking showers in Jeffrey’s apartment, we returned to the RV. During most of the night, Joseph and I conversed as if we were attending a slumber party. I considered Joseph a new friend and was grateful he had provided me with a place to sleep.

The next evening Jeff had a party in his apartment and most of the young ones attended, and some distinguished Objectivists, one being Michael Berliner, another David Kelley, and there were others. Everyone was drinking cold beer and chatting. It was fun, and unusual.

One day, as I waited in line at the cafeteria, I saw Leonard Peikoff in front of me having a panic attack about the fried chicken. I heard him say: “Chicken again! We just had it for lunch yesterday. Oh no, not again. Why chicken again?” It reminded me of Woody Allen, the way he became so dramatic about something so insignificant. One woman, who was seeking to become the hero, hurried up to the counter and asked if anything else besides chicken could be served. The black man behind it didn’t seem to understand what the fuss was all about.

On the last day of the conference I was one of the last people to leave. I was waiting for transportation to the airport as Dr. Reisman drove by with his wife sitting beside him. Like the captain of the ship, he would be the last one to leave the UCSD campus after accommodating the departures of all his attendees. He was driving a brand-new two-tone Cadillac sedan, and I remember thinking: This is well deserved. The Reismans brought us all together at this beautiful location. And, despite not able to reunite with Monique, I had some of the best times of my young life, thanks to Jeff Scott and the other young ones.

What Happened Afterward

The bi-annual Jefferson School conference was discontinued after Leonard Peikoff expelled the Reismans in 1993 from the Objectivist movement. Though the expulsion was argued on moral grounds, I believe it was all about money. Some of the lecturers close to Peikoff were jealous of the financial success of the Jefferson School and wanted a bigger slice of the pie. Peikoff initially didn’t care, but eventually allowed his lackeys to drag him into the fight. In the end, the entire movement had pie on its face. 

Dr. George Reisman