[eddie willers]

Nathaniel Branden, at the time a Rand confidant, wrote: "Eddie Willers ... represents the best of the average man: the honest, conscientious person of limited ability. At the end of the story, his fate is deliberately left indeterminate; we do not know whether he will live or die; if someone comes along to save him, he will survive; if not, he will perish. The meaning of his fate is that men such as Eddie can function productively and happily in a world in which the Hank Reardens and the Dagny Taggarts are left free, but men such as Eddie have no chance in a world ruled by the collectivists." (Who Is Ayn Rand? [New York: Random House, 1962], pp. 121-22.)

[sam_paine]

Why, thanks for the explanation. I just wish Ayn had let the editors delete about every other paragraph. I would've been more impressed if she could make her point in 500 words or less!