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Rorschach as Objectivist?

By John Tabin on 3.9.09 @ 3:07PM

Note: If you haven't read Watchmen or seen the movie, skip this post. There are spoilers, and you won't know what I'm talking about anyway.

Brian Doherty writes at Reason that Rorschach is "probably the most vivid and well-thought-out Objectivist hero that Rand didn’t create." It's true that Steve Ditko created The Question as an Objectivist hero, and that Alan Moore based Rorschach on The Question. But it's a little silly to think of Rorschach as a Randian given how much Moore, a leftist, deviates in his portrayal from how Randians actually think. In one scene Rorschach menacingly scolds Moloch for having illegal medication; Randians are generally libertarian on drugs, and wouldn't get indignant about a violation of prescription drug laws. Rorschach's attitudes toward sex also don't quite fit for an Objectivist; Rand herself had convoluted and sometimes contradictory ideas about sexual morality that some of her followers may defend, but there's nothing Randian about Rorschach's repulsion at fornication per se.

The political landscape of Watchmen really doesn't allow for philosophical subtlety. The right-wingers are all grotesque caricatures. The New Frontiersman at one point runs an item from the "crank file" addressed to "The Jewnited States of America." Moore has actually refered to Rorschach in interviews as a "very fascist character" (which indicates that Moore doesn't really understand fascism, either). This is defensible in a comic book, especially in Watchmen, where the twist at the end is that the good lefty turns out to be the villain and the crazy righty turns out to be the only one who stands up for the truth. In a way, Rorschach is both too simple and too interesting to really be thought of as an Objectivist hero.

View all comments (9) | Leave a comment

Michael Kotschi| 3.9.09 @ 9:43PM

Actually a stronger influence on the Rorschach is probably another Ditko character, Mr A. And Alan Moore actually claims to be an Anarchist/Occultist more than a simple lefty. Get your facts straight.

TooTicky| 3.11.09 @ 5:11AM

In a way it's not just Alan Moore's dislike of objectivists. He feels that objectivists are generally hypocritical and as such, made Rorschach a hugely hypocritical character. (An example being how he supported Truman's bombing of Hiroshima and at the end of the story...)
I don't think things like Rorschach's opinions on sex and drugs really make him any less objectivist just because it branches out from the traditional libertarian objectivist viewpoints. In the grand scheme of things, those topics are somewhat petty, too political and not philosophical.

And not all the conservatives are played out as caricatures. Hollis Mason, one of the book's only voices of reason, is implied to be somewhat conservative. You just notice the more exaggerated characters more easily.

Money| 3.20.09 @ 11:10PM

You also forgot to mention Rorschach's views on money. Objectivist's would not want someone to be rich off of deceit, but they would love it if someone was rich because they worked hard and never exploited anyone. So I think that should have been pointed out when writing the character.

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