So what's the deal with "Atlas Shrugged"?

[7ontheline]

I believe that anyone who really buys into the philosophy of Ayn Rand has a pretty selfish, immature outlook on life. I was also one of the people who read Rand during my teenage years and thought "ZOMG! This is totally for me! I am so much smarter than the average person, they should get out of my way and let people like me run things without interference!"

FWIW, I also believe in personal responsibility and atheism, Dali. That said, Rand's philosophy is just too extreme. DidsIsRight in saying that Rand's books are just too simple and contemptuous of the common man. Don't pay any attention to any Objectivists trying to claim that the books are just a statement of ideals and not how things work in real life - one of the essential points of her philosophy seems to be that compromise is for the weak and a way to pander to the average. Maybe YOUR take on Objectivism is not as extreme, but the books tell a different story.

If you're going to read one, read Fountainhead. It's a little more tolerable - my take on it is that Howard Roark is sort of the ideal man, so it presents a picture of what her ideal person should act like. Fine, if quite a bit oversimplified and 2-dimensional (see Dids's post above). Atlas Shrugged is about how society should bend over backwards to accommodate these ideal people, and it's just a little too offensive to my sensibilities. I am smarter (book-wise, at least) than the average person by far, but I don't think it makes me better than them. It certainly doesn't make my needs more important for society. Atlas Shrugged is also extremely verbose and overwrought - it is painful to slog through, even for someone who likes it.