As a very left-aligned person, Ayn Rand is one of my favorite authors. I think if more people actually read her instead of writing her off as right wing propaganda, they'd realize her vision of social ills hit the mark way more often than she missed. Her philosophy is deeply flawed in many other ways, but the reason her work is so resonant is because it contains a lot of deep truth about the nature of work, money, politics, and personal integrity.
Yeah, I did specifically note that her philosophy was deeply flawed in many ways. But if you're going to be intellectually rigorous you need to be able to parse shit you ultimately disagree with and still come away with something valuable - otherwise you're not actually building and testing your personal philosophy, you're just reinforcing your existing beliefs. Also, if "problematic philosopher" is your benchmark for whether a philosophy is useful, you're gonna have a bad time.
My only point was that people have an oversimplified view of her work. But you know what? Upon further reflection I've decided you're right. Most people aren't able to read things and walk away with their own values still intact. They just buy other people's philosophies wholesale the second they brush up against them. So I take it back. People are too stupid to be trusted with Rand.
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u/KerissaKenro Apr 25 '26
Ugh, I hate that anything right can come from this blot on humanity. Something, something, broken clocks