It would be fair to say that when I was introduced to Ayn Rand I was a quiet, shy, very ambitious and curious guy, with a strong desire to learn and to apply what I had learned to the real world. I had only just commenced my university education, but I has read alot of economics, politics and science already. The first book my manager gave me was Ayn Rand's 'Capitalism - The Unknown Ideal'. Ok....my manager had my attention. Ayn Rand was brilliant! I never knew people could think with such clarity. Her thinking was so systematic and she defined her terms, and they retained a solid 'grounding' in the facts of reality.
University was a testing ground for me. I was challenging everyone I met, even friends, with the new ideas I was being exposed to. But far from learning from others, I was perceived as a threat and put down. I came to realise that people hated her. I think in this climate it was easy for readers and supporters of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism to feel alienated and self-righteous. It made me more keen to change the world, to learn more. The problem was I lacked the people skills to change minds. A close friend on mine said 'Andrew - people have to like you before they will listen to you'. The difference was most people hated me once I opened my mouth, perceiving me as a threat, whereas this girl shared my sense of curiosity. She is without a doubt the most courageous girl I have ever met. She didn't let others affect her the ways others did. She filtered ideas before she accepted or rejecting them.
Over time I came to appreciate the knowledge and empowerment that I had gained from Ayn Rand and her associates Leonard Peikoff and (former) Nathaniel Branden. I had truly developed as a thinker, and I never found any other philosopher who shared the objectivity, clarity or insights of Ayn Rand. In fact I received 'other philosophy' as just being irrelevant, detached, unstructured, vague and unreadable. I think alot of people reading it for the first time must think it profound because it isnt intelligible...'above them' in some respect.
So I reflect on the philosophy and feel pride for the way it has advanced my thinking. But in another sense the philosophy was damaging to me. I had become alienated and impractical. Snubbed by people as provocative, disloyal, intimidating, 'not fun', negative; I was destined to fail as long as I stayed this way, unless I detached myself from society. I did the later. I was either feeling comfortable being around others or conflicted dealing with work colleagues, but otherwise I was just different. I was intense, direct, inquisitive, problem-solving, but for others I was judgemental, intrusive and cold. They really just didnt get me. I understood them, but at the end of the day, true to my (differing) ethics, I viewed values as objective, and they didn't. They didnt mind if their values were grounded in facts. They didnt think an 'IS' implied a 'OUGHT', they saw no link.
In more recent years I have come to question aspects of the Ayn Rand philosophy. From a psychological perspective it bothered me that I was not achieving the success that I had expected for myself. In defence of Rand I had my own issues, and a 'new philosophy' is always going to be undermined by opponents who hold the political power. But aspects bothered me. I didnt like the fact that it empathy has given no standing. The psychology side of Objectivism seemed under-developed. And contrary to what Ayn Rand said, I think all philosophies tend to engender some degree of rationalism, and her philosophy is no exception. I found a great many Objectivists to be rationalists and almost 'God fearing' in the sense that they would pose issues as 'What did Ayn Rand say about that?' in the first instance.
The other aspect that I didnt like about Objectivism was the bitterness displayed by the founder. Ayn Rand did not appear to be a happy soul to people outside her 'inner circle'. I was not concerned because I 'got her' conceptually, and saw these negative perceptions as reflecting on her negative childhood growing up in Russia. Conceptually there was alot to appreciate about her. Her love of those values which she saw as the essence of the United States - that is freedom, individualism, creativity, aspirational romanticism and egoism. She was about looking up...though she seemed bitter that they seemed to take for granted or were indifferent to the values that had made the USA possible.
No book written by Ayn Rand has ever disappointed me. I agree with critics that her concretisation of themes in her novels can be repetitive but I think her intent her was reinforcement of values that were contrary to many readers, so she thought perhaps she needed to challenge them, to reinforce good values. I think alot of people will attack her 'style' because her values are so different from theirs. People either love her of hate her. It tends to be peopl strong in the 'objective sciences' like engineering, accounting, economics, science that seem to appreciate her more. The BA types seem to scorn her, and few women seem to get her, interpreting Objectivism as 'unfeeling' or 2-dimensional. Most of those who hate her want to destroy her through smear, and so she is constantly misrepresented.
She deserves to be read. I recommend reading the following books in this order:
1. Capitalism - The Uknown Ideal (non-fiction)
2. The Fountainhead (fiction)
3. Atlas Shrugged (fiction)
4. The Virtue of Selfishness (non-fiction)
If you are a fan at this point, I would recommend the Ayn Rand lecture series. I did this with a group of university admirers and it was very enlightening and fun. Leonard Peikoff is an entertaining speaker. The fact that her books have never been out of print is testimony to the fact that she will have a 'timeless' impact, and I think alot of people would 'downplay' her influence on them. She has made philosophy relevant and meaningful...and 'professional' philosophers are scornful of her because she is popular and they remain irrelevant. She stands alone whilst most philosophers are just a rehash of early influences. Ayn Rand cites just a few soul mates - Aristotle (philosopher), Frank Lloyd Wright (atchitect), Victor Hugo.
See http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_24/c3937137_mz030.htm - my public tribute to Ayn Rand.
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Pleased to hear comments or criticism if reason is the standard.
