Polemical novels, such as The Fountainhead (1943), of primarily known Russian-American writer Ayn Rand, originally Alisa Rosenbaum, espouse the doctrines of objectivism and political libertarianism.
Fiction of this better author and philosopher developed a system that she named. Educated, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early initially duds and two Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame. In 1957, she published Atlas Shrugged, her best-selling work.
Rand advocated reason and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism as opposed to altruism. She condemned the immoral initiation of force and supported laissez-faire capitalism, which she defined as the system, based on recognizing individual rights, including private property. Often associated with the modern movement in the United States, Rand opposed and viewed anarchism. In art, she promoted romantic realism. She sharply criticized most philosophers and their traditions with few exceptions.
Books of Rand sold more than 37 million copies. From literary critics, her fiction received mixed reviews with more negative reviews for her later work. Afterward, she turned to nonfiction to promote her philosophy, published her own periodicals, and released several collections of essays until her death in 1982.
After her death, her ideas interested academics, but philosophers generally ignored or rejected her and argued that her approach and work lack methodological rigor. She influenced some right conservatives. The movement circulates her ideas to the public and in academic settings.
Hello, my name is Andrew Ryan and I'm here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? "No," says the man in Washington, "it belongs to the poor." "No," says the man in the Vatican, "it belongs to God." "No," says the man in Moscow, "it belongs to everyone." I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible.
I tried. An old friend nagged me into reading this so we could discuss it, so I really really tried. I made it through about one fifth of the book before having the so-why-did-you-like-it? conversation with my friend and sending it back to the library. I remember enjoying The Fountainhead in college but that was 20-some years ago and I am either less impressionable or this book is not as well written. I am intrigued that Ayn Rand's ideology-which is so diametrically opposed to Marxism--shares so many characteristics with Marxist thought: the rigidity, the black and white interpretation of the world, the rabid secular humanism with its attendant hubris and man-over-nature stance, its obsession with production as a quintessential value. Am I missing something here? What finally did it for me was the sex. I just couldn't take Rand's overwrought sex scenes with Dagne. Yegads. The single-minded powerful master of the universe (or at least of a railway) finding herself overcome with the pleasure of becoming the object of another's basest animal desire, blah, blah, blah. Her writing is just so FRAUGHT. And the bad guys or so ridiculous in their sniveling idiocy. She doesn't give the opposition a fair fight. The conversation with the friend established that despite its problems, there was a kernel of truth running through the book (which I will grant) about the people who create and the people who try to appropriate what others create. I would just prefer a different vehicle for that argument.
Iat膬 o scriitoare care 葯i-a folosit talentul 葯i scrisul pentru a promova ideea 卯n care a crezut cu toat膬 fiin葲a. Noul curent filosofic, bazele c膬ruia au fost puse de Ayn Rand, se reg膬se葯te pe fiecare pagin膬 a romanului s膬u. Revolta autoarei 卯mpotriva unui altruism nejustificat , care nu va aduce nici un beneficiu dec芒t crearea unor mon葯tri leno葯i, capabili s膬 se hr膬neasc膬 doar de pe spatele altora, este strigat膬 din r芒ndul 卯nt芒i al acestui roman. 葮i nu trebuie s膬 fii tare iscusit la a citi printre r芒nduri: vei g膬si aici ideile ei clar explicate prin exemple concrete de del膬sare, prin ni葯te lozinci sociale ce ascund de fapt interese personale strigate de la tribuna guvernului, prin lupta cr芒ncen膬 卯ntre ra葲iune 葯i sentimentalism ieftin. Probabil genera葲iile crescute 卯n colectivismul comunist vor g膬si scandaloase ideile capitalismului Laissez-faire, bazat pe recunoa葯terea drepturilor individuale, ori dimpotriv膬 vor dori s膬 卯mbr膬葲i葯eze fiecare cuv芒nt, tocmai pentru c膬 au fost priva葲i de aceste drepturi mult timp. Oricum ar fi, stilul autoarei 卯mbie la lectur膬, la g芒ndire 葯i la formarea propriilor idei. De aceea recomand cu tot dragul s膬 descoperi葲i personajele bine conturate, descrierile echilibrate ale unei lumi distopice, dar foarte aproape de realitatea noastr膬 pe care o gust膬m azi.
I read this book at the advice of my Mother she said Atlas Shrugged was her manual for living and that I reminded her of one of the books characters, I thought that was perplexing , protecting the glorious capitalist ideal put forth in Atlas isn't something I would leave up to anyone but a conservative and very wealthy Liberals. I mean, who else really cares? Altas Shrugged has had a huge impact, I think, on the world, for good and bad. This book gives license to anyone who is brave enough to progress and to reach something greater. And that is a wonderful thing, unless we are talking about dumping your spouse because something better has come along. Hank dumps his wife, and then Dagny dumps Hank; and we're all supposed to feel just great about it all because in the end, Dagny and John, the true equals in intellect and ambition, end up together. It's a fallacy that the principles behind capitalism apply to human intimacy. Once you choose to be someone's spouse, There is always a way to progress TOGETHER. But ultimately, I think Ayn Rand had it right. Socialism doesn't help the downtrodden. It enables them.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
What an enthralling book. All the characters are done very well. The story is entertaining and mysterious, nourished with hints of philosophical viewpoints. Not surprisingly, Dagny is my favourite character. She has the strength to stand against everyone and be right.
鈥濬ilosofia mea este, 卯n esen葲膬, 卯n葲elegerea omului ca fiin葲膬 eroic膬, al c膬rui scop moral e propria fericire, a c膬rui activitate nobil膬 sunt propriile realiz膬ri 葯i propria productivitate, 葯i al c膬rui singur absolut e ra葲iunea.鈥�
Mi-a fost dificil s膬 citesc cartea, parc膬 e 卯ntr-un fel, tehnic膬 . E un manifest la capitalism. St芒nga e la putere 卯n SUA 艧i face legea, economia e controlat膬 cu stricte牛e. 脦ntreprinderile private sufer膬 de pe urma reglement膬rilor dure ale statului 艧i oamenii sunt exploata牛i, 卯ndoctrina牛i. Nici nu se pune a g芒ndi cu propria minte. Corup牛ia domne艧te. Cei care sunt 卯mpotriva sistemului politic dispar. Statul promite egalitate, fericire, totul este al poporului, dar f膬r膬 capitalism. Protagoni艧tii Dagny Taggart 艧i Hank Rearden lupt膬 pentru a avea succes, chiar dac膬 statul vrea s膬 le controleze afacerile, s膬 profite de productivitatea lor. Dagny 艧i Hank au o idil膬. Apare un personaj misterios, pe nume John Galt. Filosofia lui Galt se bazeaz膬 pe ra牛iune 艧i individualism. El lupt膬 pentru o societate capitalist膬. Am 卯nceput s膬 citesc al doilea volum, dar lam abandonat. Cartea nu e doar mare, dar 艧i stilul lui Rand e cam greoi. Neap膬rat voi citi celelalte 2 volume.
Utterly profoundly important, and beautifully craft, hence I've given it a 5 however, I think rand could have wrapped this up in 2 or 3 hundred fewer pages because it's very much drawnout in the second half.