Because you perceive pretention, you dismiss the point. Just as some who see uncouthness, dismiss Trump wholecloth. Just as YOU dismiss the obvious and valid truths of Rand because of her personal quirks and ideas you don't believe in.
That is the wheat and the chaff, goodman. You need to learn to find truth where is lies. Throw away the chaff. It's what I do. And I come away with nothing but truth.
There are many flawed messengers, but there is a lot of truth. Are we only to receive it from flawless messengers?
I repeat, with perceived pretension, separate the wheat from the chaff.
It really is the best way.
I see Objectivism as analogous to the golden calf crafted by the Israelites to worship in Moses’ absence.
Here is the analogy: Just as making an object out of intrinsically valuable precious metal does not mean the object itself has positive value; similarly, including capitalism in her “philosophy” does not make it valuable.