Ayn Rand was not a defender of the rich

Washington Post ^ | May 13, 2014 | Ilya Somin

[OddLane]

Ayn Rand, the famous novelist and free market advocate, is often caricatured as a defender of the rich or big business. But, as Steve Horwitz explains at the Bleeding Heart Libertarian blog, there are more wealthy villains in her books than wealthy heroes. And many of her heroes – including John Galt, whom Rand portrayed as the person best exemplifying her philosophy – are not particularly wealthy. Ultimately, Rand’s work praises producers, not wealthy people as such: One of the other valuable pieces of Rand’s work is also one of the most frequently misunderstood by her critics….

[T]he view [of many critics] is that Rand supposedly loved the rich and hated the poor, and that Atlas Shrugged is a story of the rich as Nietzschean heroes who should be freed to save the world from the mooching poor and middle class.

This, of course, is simply wrong. It’s not “the rich” who go on strike, but the producers.

[Misterioso]

She was also not a man. You forgot that.

[wetphoenix]

~She was also not a man. You forgot that.~

What do you mean?

[left that other site]

Pardon me...read it a long time ago.

[jmcenanly]

If I remember the book properly, all of the major characters in Atlas Shrugs were rich. Some created their wealth by hard work, some by political connections, others by inheritance.It is what they did with that wealth that shaped their character.

[Raymann]

Two characters, Dagny and Francisco, were blue bloods but most worked for their wealth. John Galt worked for a few years as an automotive engineer then as a railroad laborer.

[GeronL]

Dagny and Francisco worked from childhood if I recall correctly

[Night Hides Not]

You are correct.

[Misterioso]

It’s a suggestion for your list of all the things Rand was not—such as “a good Christian.”

[Misterioso]

If I remember the book properly, all of the major characters in Atlas Shrugs were rich.

LOL. Remember? Not so much.

[Mase]

Not true.

You're wrong.

the only way one knows if a person is an atheist is if they are "vocal" about it.

And Rand was very vocal about her disdain for religion, and for being an atheist. I suppose that's why we knew about it many decades ago.

And Rand, at that time, was anything but "renowned" in any way.

Maybe we just define the word differently. Or, maybe you are very young and don't remember the 60's. Rand, and her Objectivist movement, were very well known at the time. Atlas Shrugged was published in '57, and was on the best seller list for 22 weeks. Her Playboy interview in '64 is still popular today. Nathaniel Branden and his group had a whole floor leased in the Empire State Building at this time. But she wasn't renowned? Sure.

[Mase]

I’ll take Reagan at his word, unless you have something that proves otherwise. Maybe he changed his mind after her comments about him being beholden to the religious right. Maybe not. Maybe he was a man who said what he meant and meant what he said. Hey, at least you learned something about Reagan and Rand that you weren’t aware of before. Glad I could help.

[ansel12]

I won’t take you at your word, if you are going to try and twist about the blandest thank you note that we have ever seen from a candidate, into a ringing endorsement of Ayn Rand.

Reagan was no libertarian, and so far, you haven’t proven he was a true admirer of Ayn Rand.

“”Dear Mr. Vandersteel:
Thanks very much for the pamphlet. Am an admirer of Ayn Rand but hadn’t seen this study.
Sincerely, Ronald Reagan””

Now do you have more comments from Reagan on Ayn Rand, or is that sad little note from 1966, it?

[Misterioso]

I read Atlas Shrugged in 1960 at the age of 24 and became a student of the Nathaniel Branden Institute that fall. I’ve been an Objectivist ever since. I think I know what I’m talking about.

[OddLane]

I think it's going to be released sometime next year, although I could be wrong.

In any case, after watching Part I, I'm going to take a pass.

The few people I know who saw the sequel were underwhelmed, to say the least.

[haroldeveryman]

A lot of people thought the girl who played Dagney Taggart was miscast. They were learning from their mistakes and the second one did better.

[Mase]

Ringing endorsement? I don't recall using that term. I do recall saying Reagan was an admirer of Rand. He used that word, not me. I'm as surprised as you are that he said he was an admirer - even in a polite note of thanks.

I need to prove nothing. You should let it go.

[Mase]

Excellent! You were there at the height of Rand's popularity. So you would be very well aware of her renown, her forthright atheist beliefs, and her lack of tolerance for religion.

Atlas Shrugged, to this day, remains a testament to Rand's anti-Christian philosophy.

[ansel12]

You will take Reagan at his “WORD”?

Trying to twist a generic thank you note.“”Dear Mr. Vandersteel:
Thanks very much for the pamphlet. Am an admirer of Ayn Rand but hadn’t seen this study.
Sincerely, Ronald Reagan””

Into a permanent, and public statement, and a part of history that Reagan was an “admirer” of Ayn Rand, is a heck of a stretch, for a generic thank you note.

You are making that little note into a Reagan position statement on Ayn Rand.

What was a candidate supposed to say to a company president who admired Ayn Rand so much that he sent a pamphlet to the governor candidate?

Got any more of this definitive history?

[Misterioso]

You have it backwards. No one had heard of Ayn Rand or her philosophy in 1960. Sure, she had readers, but that was it. It took Paul Ryan to make her famous.

[OddLane]

She's a good actress, but the whole project was a bit of a debacle.

I feel sorry for her in that regard.