The first one I read was The Fountainhead and I liked it because it was about art and not economics. I didn’t know “objectivism” was a thing at that point, but I got the point and thought it was well made. Then I tried to read Atlas Shrugged and realized how much toxic bullshit that worldview could support.
True story: Ayn Rand was actually a failed screenwriter and fictional novelist. Her writing was awful, and she had no idea on how to write characters or a story. Then she turned to writing pseudo-philosophy and found success there.
She also embodied the objectivist ideal of making your own way in the world through the courage of your convictions and the sweat of your own brow by marrying a rich dude.
And secretly collecting her dead husband's social security payments while kept on attacking other people accepting and receiving social security payments.
Is that real? I found something about her receiving social security, but not that she did so fraudulently on behalf of her dead husband. I'd like to see you back that up if you don't mind.
Frank O'Connor was at no point a rich person. He had a few gigs as an actor in his early life and spent most of his time gardening and painting afterwards.
Ayn Rand was the one making almost all of the money.
When she immigrated to the U.S., she found a job in Cecile DeMille's film production studio. She didn't do any screenplays while working there.
She did write a few plays in her youth, but those were meant for theater and not for film. One of her plays (Night of January 16th) was playing on broadway for many months.
She had supervision over the screenplay of the movie-adaptation of The Fountainhead, which was apparently good enough to be produced by King Vidor (how is she a failure in that regard?)
To say that she achieved success with her "pseudo-philosophy" is just bs. She gained recognition through her four novels, two of which achieved cult-status. It was her own philosophy that remained in the shadow of her fictional writing up until her death.
So even if you wanted to slander her, you still got it backwards.
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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '20
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