She believed, she added, that man's "highest moral purpose is the achievement of his own happiness, and that he must not force other people, nor accept their right to force him, that each man must live as an end in himself and follow his own rational self-interest. Atlas Shrugged is her magnum opus, set in an undated American future, although it is reminiscent of the s. The strike by millionaire tycoons is orchestrated by the Christ-like figure of John Galt, who towards the end of the novel makes a page speech that took Rand two years to write.
Her voice and ideas are clearly present in the noble characters of Galt, railway heiress Dagny Taggart, copper magnate Francisco d'Anconia and steel tycoon Hank Rearden. This quartet are idealised figures, capitalist high-fliers who must defeat Rand's "looter" enemies - unions, lobbyists, government officials and any supporters of altruism and welfare.
Rand herself saw this struggle play out in the most traumatic way. Born into a Jewish family called Rosenbaum in St Petersburg, she was just 12 when she witnessed her father's pharmacy being seized by the Bolsheviks. She never forgot that injustice and humiliation, says Heller, author of Ayn Rand and the World She Made, even when she arrived in the US eight years later. Her novel, The Fountainhead, about an architect, was a word-of-mouth success and made into a film starring Gary Cooper.
It drew a committed group of supporters to Rand, some of whom gathered every Saturday at her New York apartment to read extracts from her next book. Among them was an economic forecaster called Alan Greenspan, who became her close friend and eventually chairman of the US Federal Reserve. Despite this dedicated following, reviews of Atlas Shrugged in were not favourable, and its message united both left and right in condemnation.
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.
Among those trying to figure out what's happening are Taggart and steel tycoon Hank Rearden. Eventually they meet John Galt, an engineer who had been elevated to legendary status by "stopping the motor of the world" in encouraging other individualists to drop out, and who delivers the novel's showstopping page speech -- an expansive summary of Rand's philosophy. Upon the book's release it divided critics and readers, some of whom praised its message of self-sufficiency. More, however, disliked Rand's politics and atheism, not to mention her writing.
Is it a nightmare? Is it Superman -- in the comic-strip or the Nietzschean version? She deserves credit at least for imagination; unfortunately, it is tied to ludicrous naivety.
But Rand's book -- which followed 's "The Fountainhead," about a Frank Lloyd Wright-like architect determined to follow his own path -- was a best seller and has continued to be significant. Her philosophy of selfishness and her love of pure capitalism she used to wear a dollar-sign brooch has earned her many followers, particularly on the right. Boushey points out that even Greenspan has reversed course, to an extent, in his admiration of laissez-faire economics. The Rand Institute's Brook points out that, to Rand, selfishness did not mean disengagement from the world or sociopathy.
It's that debate over shared sacrifice that will likely continue to fuel Rand's critics, as well as her admirers. At bookstores, it will likely keep cash registers ringing, which could only have made the dollar-sign-wearing author very happy, indeed. Share this on:. But the strong showing of Atlas Shrugged on The Great American Read suggests those trends may be reversing -- despite the best efforts of many in the mainstream media and academia to marginalize the author.
From May 22 to October 18, , readers voted. Ayn Rand is definitely on the rise. We are seeing it in our explosive social media growth, in attention to our videos, and in attendance at our events. Marilyn Moore. Reading Lists. What is Objectivism? Personal Application. Browse by Category. Ayn Rand. Current Events. Personal Life.
0コメント