Is Rand Relevant?

WSJ ^ | 3/14/2009 | YARON BROOK

[shove_it]

Ayn Rand died more than a quarter of a century ago, yet her name appears regularly in discussions of our current economic turmoil. Pundits including Rush Limbaugh and Rick Santelli urge listeners to read her books, and her magnum opus, "Atlas Shrugged," is selling at a faster rate today than at any time during its 51-year history.

There's a reason. In "Atlas," Rand tells the story of the U.S. economy crumbling under the weight of crushing government interventions and regulations. Meanwhile, blaming greed and the free market, Washington responds with more controls that only deepen the crisis. Sound familiar?

The novel's eerily prophetic nature is no coincidence. "If you understand the dominant philosophy of a society," Rand wrote elsewhere in "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," "you can predict its course." Economic crises and runaway government power grabs don't just happen by themselves; they are the product of the philosophical ideas prevalent in a society -- particularly its dominant moral ideas.

[...]

[shove_it]

Atlas Shrugged is currently #27 on Amazon.

[shove_it]

FYI Publius

[Lurker]

She's not only relevant, she should be required reading.

L

[concerned about politics]

"Atlas Shrugged," is selling at a faster rate today than at any time during its 51-year history.

That's good news. The more people who read it, the better.
It's one heck of a long story, but once you start reading it, it's hard to put down. I even got my husband hooked on it.

[screaminsunshine]

Her fiction novel is now a non-fiction book.

[sadamico]

“She's not only relevant, she should be required reading.”

I remember having to read a book WAY back in grade school where the people were forced to make themselves equal. People that could see well had to wear glasses that blurred their vision. A graceful ballerina had to wear heavy, metal plating to make her “normal”. Government enforced this rule by killing those that didn't submit.

I really wish I could remember the name of that book or the author.

[Calm_Cool_and_Elected]

Started reading it yesterday.

[Pete98]

The title was “Harrison Bergeron,” I believe.

[Lurker]

I really wish I could remember the name of that book or the author.

"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut.

L

[rhombus]

I remember having to read a book WAY back in grade school where the people were forced to make themselves equal. People that could see well had to wear glasses that blurred their vision. A graceful ballerina had to wear heavy, metal plating to make her “normal”. Government enforced this rule by killing those that didn't submit. I really wish I could remember the name of that book or the author.

I believe it may have been a short story entitled Harrison Bergeron written by Kurt Vonnegut. Try the Welcome to the Monkey House collection.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron

[Weatherman Bill]

She was a strange man-hater who wrote a hard-to-read book with a pro-capitalism message. Just because she agrees with our politics doesn’t make her a writer.

[Empireoftheatom48]

I’m on page 196.

[LearsFool]

Is Rand Relevant?

Is this a trick question?

I'd be the first to admit her "Objectivism" goes a bit too far. But then again, the perfect is the enemy of the good, so I shouldn't nitpick while she's sounding the warning against totalitarianism.

My local library got tired of me checking out "Atlas Shrugs" and "We the Living" again and again, so she got an Amazon-bump from this reader recently.

[demshateGod]

“Is Rand Relevant?”

No.

[saganite]

#38 on Amazon right now and #99 on USA Today list of 150 best sellers. Not bad for a 50 year old book.

[stockpirate]

Read a post here not too long ago that said something like 8 percent of Americans have read the book.

[IYAS9YAS]

I remember a sci-fi-related magazine in the mid to late 70s that I read as a kid. It had news articles (the Space Shuttle was big at the time), and short stories. One of the short stories gave me the willies.

It was the story of a couple sending their child off for I.Q. testing done by the government. All children had to undergo the testing at a certain age.

I don't remember the specifics, but the kid was apparently a genius. The last line of the story had the government agent asking the parents where they would like their child buried.

[Xenophon450]

Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

[jabonz08]

John Galt is my hero.

[AD from SpringBay]

How many books does one have to write, publish, and sell before one becomes a writer?