Why do people like ayn rand

A Russian-born writer who moved to the United States in , Rand promoted a philosophy of egoism that she called Objectivism. The encounter is clearly nonconsensual — Francon genuinely resists and Roark unmistakably forces himself upon her — and yet Rand implies that rape survivors, not the rapists, are responsible.

It would not be stretching a point to say that her philosophy has encouraged some politicians to ignore and blame the poor and powerless for their condition. In Atlas Shrugged , the mysterious cult-like leader and Objectivist spokesperson John Galt and his clique run away to establish a colony off the grid, free from government interference, and free to create their own rules. Yet imagine the reality of a world without regulations such as those of an environmental protection agency.

Yet Galt rejects any duty towards others, and expects none from others. Skip to header Skip to main content Skip to footer Opinion. AP Photo. Many of my fellow conservatives love Ayn Rand. And many of my liberal friends love to hate her.

It's a wish-fulfillment fantasy In Ayn Rand's books, the main character is typically an implausibly awesome version of the person many conservatives would secretly like to be. It's possible to dissociate a book from its politics According to my totally nonscientific sense of things, the singlemost popular work of fiction among Silicon Valley geeks is The Lord of the Rings.

There are too few works of art in popular culture that have conservative values Progressives often obsess over the notion of "checking your privilege," and I believe by and large it is a healthy instinct, because many of us are indeed beneficiaries of privilege. Rand's work does get at a crucial truth that almost everyone misses Again, as a Christian and as a conservative, I find Rand's Objectivism, to use a word she so liked, despicable.

This means that, much like democracy, capitalism is a deeply morally righteous system. More From Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry. Read All. Liberals' Medicaid hypocrisy. The quiet intellectual push behind conservatives' court coup. What the Bible really says about government.

Vladimir Putin's own goal. Biden owes his core voters student loan forgiveness. Michael Arceneaux. Gore Vidal described it as "almost perfect in its immorality". But this didn't stop it from becoming an international bestseller, as millions were drawn to her central message of individualism and unfettered capitalism, even if they didn't buy into her whole philosophy. And more than 50 years after publication, sales are booming. According to Nielsen BookScan, more than , copies were sold in the US in , pushing sales for all her works past the half-million mark that year.

The extent of her influence was demonstrated this week when Paul Ryan joined the Mitt Romney ticket, although he has now distanced himself from her work. In , Ryan told the Atlas Society how Rand "taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are".

But earlier this year, he told the National Review that as a Catholic he rejected her atheism. Beyond politics, the novel also had an impact in Silicon Valley, where entrepreneurs identified with its emphasis on heroic individuals and their work ethic.

Some have named their companies or their newborn children after the author or her characters. It's less about the economy or your relationship with government, so there is very little in Ayn Rand that they could identify with. Facts trump man's feelings, wishes, hopes, and fears. It is man's only guide to action and means to survival.

Pursuit of his own rational self-interest and his own happiness is his life's moral purpose.