One of the best books I’ve ever read is Atlas Shrugged. I’ll look for more of her books. I did not know anything about her past. Thanks for posting this.
Ayn Rand was moderately popular in Russia in 1990s and absolutely popular from like 15 to 5 years ago.
Not so much today with growing Western-backed interest in socialism.
A person wearing MAGA cap in Russia today is the least appealing promoter of anything right now.
Just my 5 cents.
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Brilliant, flawed, interesting Ayn. Long ago I went through a period when I studied her life and work pretty closely.
My favorite anecdotes about her are illustrative, but not flattering. In the first, when she learned her much younger protege and lover Nathaniel Branden (an anagram of Ben Rand, i.e., Son of Rand) was cheating on her, the goddess of reason slapped him hard across the face and flew into a rage with witnesses present, violating her own golden rule that emotions should always be held in check and subordinated to reason.
In the second, at the end of her life when it became clear lung cancer would kill her, her physician urged her to publicly denounce smoking to her legions of fans and followers, many of whom smoked because of her example. She declined. Their health was their problem, she averred. And besides, the champion of nicotine found it much too difficult to admit she was wrong about the habit.
Ayn Rand was correct about private property, capitalism and the meaning of money. She was very wrong about much else.
Ayn Rand was a dismal woman.
Well, they had 70 years to dress up as the wrong characters.
There are several Randian ideas I’d advise them to stay well away from.
Rand ping.