[FreeKeys]

One question about Ayn Rand: Where are the children?

I'm an Ayn Rand fan with kids and grandkids, and I think your question is incredibly, bizarrely, outrageously inane, let alone irrelevant. Rand put out an ENORMOUS amount of work; A.S. alone took 12 years of 16-hours-a-day intensity, and she explained that, since such productivity was her goal, that it would have been unwise, let alone unfair, to have kids in the face of all that.

I believe that she has brought over 4 million Americans (including myself) over from the Dark Side -- (and W. would have lost if she hadn't). So DO try to develop a little realistic perspective, and appreciate the positive, won't you?

[sarasmom]

You did not answer the question.
WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN?
I consider the book "Atlas Shrugged" to be deeply provocative, and I would recommend it as a core classic novel to be read by everyone who pursues a thorough basic education.
It, and the Author, is limited in its scope, if one tries to twist it into a rational, working philosophy.

[SamAdams76]

I think the poster you were responding to was referring to the absence of children in her literature, not in her personal life. I have noticed this in Ayn Rand's books myself. It seems that none of her protagonists ever have children. I'm thinking AS mentioned Hank Reardon having children but now I can't remember for sure. Of course, not having children herself, Ayn Rand probably didn't have the frame of reference to be able to write much about them.

Some of Ayn's protagonists like Dagny Taggert remind me of the self-obsessed, childless, over-achieving Yuppies we have today who can be found in Starbucks all over America sipping lattes while banging away on their laptops and working into the night.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

[A. Pole]

A.S. alone took 12 years of 16-hours-a-day intensity, and she explained that, since such productivity was her goal, that it would have been unwise, let alone unfair, to have kids in the face of all that.

I guess the Randian supermen/superwomen would rather leave the task of raising children to the stupid and unproductive breeders.

BTW, there are many better books writen in much shorter time by people with children. I feel sorry for Mrs. O'Connor.