rawstory | The ‘Atlas Shrugged’ author made selfishness heroic and caring about others weakness.
Ayn Rand’s “philosophy” is nearly perfect in its immorality, which makes the size of her audience all the more ominous and symptomatic as we enter a curious new phase in our society….To justify and extol human greed and egotism is to my mind not only immoral, but evil.— Gore Vidal, 1961
Only rarely in U.S. history do writers transform us to become a more
caring or less caring nation. In the 1850s, Harriet Beecher Stowe
(1811-1896) was a strong force in making the United States a more humane
nation, one that would abolish slavery of African Americans. A century
later, Ayn Rand (1905-1982) helped make the United States into one of
the most uncaring nations in the industrialized world, a neo-Dickensian
society where healthcare is only for those who can afford it, and where
young people are coerced into huge student-loan debt that cannot be
discharged in bankruptcy.
Rand’s impact has been widespread and deep. At the iceberg’s visible
tip is the influence she’s had over major political figures who have
shaped American society. In the 1950s, Ayn Rand read aloud drafts of
what was later to become Atlas Shrugged to her “Collective,”
Rand’s ironic nickname for her inner circle of young individualists,
which included Alan Greenspan, who would serve as chairman of the
Federal Reserve Board from 1987 to 2006.
In 1966, Ronald Reagan wrote in a personal letter, “Am an admirer of
Ayn Rand.” Today, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) credits Rand for inspiring him
to go into politics, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) calls Atlas Shrugged
his “foundation book.” Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) says Ayn Rand had a major
influence on him, and his son Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is an even bigger
fan. A short list of other Rand fans includes Supreme Court Justice
Clarence Thomas; Christopher Cox, chairman of the Security and Exchange
Commission in George W. Bush’s second administration; and former South
Carolina governor Mark Sanford.
But Rand’s impact on U.S. society and culture goes even deeper.
