Ayn Rand's Birthday

Ayn Rand was born February 2, 1905 and died March 6, 1982; born Alissa "Alice" Zinovievna Rosenbaum, was a popular and controversial American novelist and philosopher, best known for her philosophy of Objectivism, and her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Her philosophy and her fiction both emphasize, above all, her concept of individualism, egoism, "rational self-interest," and capitalism. Her novels were based upon the archetype of the Randian hero, a man whose ability and independence leads others to reject him, but who perseveres nevertheless to achieve his values. Rand viewed this hero as the ideal and made it the express goal of her literature to showcase such heroes. She believed:

That man must choose his values and actions by reason.

That the individual has a right to exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing self to others nor others to self.

That no one has the right to seek values from others by physical force, or impose ideas on others by physical force.

Rand's first major professional success came with her best-selling novel The Fountainhead (1943). The novel was rejected by many publishers before finally being accepted by the Bobbs-Merrill Company publishing house. Despite these initial struggles The Fountainhead was successful, bringing Rand fame, notoriety, and financial security.

Rand published the book described as her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, in 1957. This book, just as The Fountainhead had, became a bestseller. Atlas Shrugged is often seen as Rand's most complete statement of Objectivist philosophy in any of her works of fiction.

Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead were two books that I've read that have had a major influence on my thinking and would be on my list of best books. Anyone who thinks they are a 'capitalist' or wants a better understanding of capitalism should read them.

"The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities."-Ayn Rand