An Essay about Ayn Rand

A fantastic (and balanced) essay about Ayn Rand and here books. Unsparing in critizing her where deserved. Like this piece about her brag about "not faking reality in any manner".
Rand had periods of heavy use (of amphetamines) in the 1950s and '60s.... As anyone who has had the experience knows, a good way to get a really, really distorted sense of reality is to swallow a couple of Dexedrines. If you want to take them anyway, don't go around bragging that you never "fake reality in any manner."


... but the article also provides a credible and heartfelt explanation of why her novels are popular (and great)
...a heroic vision of a blue-collar worker doing his job... Critics often accuse Rand of portraying a few geniuses as the only people worth valuing. That's not what I took away from her. I saw her celebrating people who did their work well and condemning people who settled for less, in great endeavors or small; celebrating those who took responsibility for their lives, and condemning those who did not. That sounded right to me in 1960 and still sounds right in 2010.


Finally, a reason to like Ayn Rand without feeling the need to put her down just so you can give those silly "Objectivists" a bloody nose.

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