I don’t think that a single sentence on Ayn Rand in CNN’s Mental Floss column is true:
Ayn RandThe egotist’s egotist, author Ayn Rand (born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum) is the patron saint of Thinking You’re Better Than Everybody Else.
Her most famous novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, are massive dramatizations of Objectivism, her self-spun Oscar-the-Grouch philosophy for success. Objectivism champions ego and accomplishment, shuns all religion as folly, and condemns any form of charity or altruism as counterproductive to society.
Rand’s novels often focus on protagonists (invariably men) who are shunned by others because of their genius, but then persevere over the foolishness of morons to prove said genius and emerge triumphant.
Not surprisingly, she saw humility as a weakness and regarded laughing at yourself as “spitting in your own face.”
So, just how much did Rand believe in her own philosophy? Let’s just say a lot. With signature modesty, she ranked herself as the philosophical equal of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas.
Disgusting. Ignorant. Garbage.
If anyone wants to write up a sentence-by-sentence reply, I’ll post it. I’m too overwhelmed by the stench to even try right now.
