Can We Blame Ayn Rand for the Selfishness of Americans?

I had no idea the author was so controversial

My daughters and I are avid readers, so taking multiple books on vacation is a given. For my recent trip to London, my older daughter suggested that I read one of her favorite books: Anthem by Ayn Rand. 

Of course, I waited until the last minute to find a copy before my trip, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it in my local Barnes and Noble. The associate who helped us seemed a bit surprised that someone was searching for that title, but she did manage to find a copy in their bargain fiction setting.

This should have been a clue that I may not like this book. But since it’s a favorite of my daughter’s, I really wanted to read it. 

In the first part of my trip, my reading was occupied by the first in the Bridgerton series. Whoo! What a book. But I managed to finish Anthem during the flight home. 

The juxtaposition between the historically fictional (enjoyably smutty) romance of Bridgerton and the stark and desolate dystopia depicted in Anthem is not lost on me. I went from a world of privileged lovelies and hot sex to something more like Divergent or The Hunger Games. 

Since my daughter is also a fan of these series of books, I’m not surprised by the appeal of Anthem, a tale of a communist society where people are separated into categories of jobs, and all traces of modern life are absent. The “old ways,” including electricity and practicing individual freedoms, were gone. 

The protagonist did not fit in the mold of this society, questioning everything. And even though he wanted to be assigned as a scholar, he was relegated to being a street sweeper. 

His life was destined for monotony until he found a secret underground tunnel with traces of the modern “old” ways, and he also fell in love. These two things give him hope, which we all know is a dangerous drug in dystopian fiction. 

The pronoun used in the book is “we.” There was no “I” until the end when the protagonist broke free from the shackles of his society. 

I think my daughter’s love for this book comes from its similarities to her other favorite dystopian novels and the sense that we could root for a hero to escape.

Apparently, though, the focus on individualism and self-interest are common themes for Ayn Rand, with titles like The Fountainhead and The Virtue of Selfishness among her works. 

Do you remember that one scene in Dirty Dancing when Baby confronts Robbie, the creepy rich waiter, and she asks him to help Penny pay for her abortion of his fetus? And he pulls out a copy of The Fountainhead to justify his unforgettable line, “Some people matter. Some people don’t.” That’s about all l knew of The Fountainhead before reading my first book by Ayn Rand.

Scrolling my news feed the other morning, I came across an interesting article by a clinical psychologist about Ayn Rand, and it was a bit shocking. It’s definitely worth reading, especially if hearing about sordid love triangles is intriguing to you. 

The author accuses Rand of convincing many Americans that selfishness is justified, going as far as to blame her for our current state of affairs politically. Some conservative politicians have even referenced her books as sources for their philosophies on governing, justifying a love for capitalism and a lack of altruism. 

I wonder if those who are getting their panties in a wad over book banning would let hers remain? My guess is that since the great Ronald Reagan claimed to be a fan, they would. 

Lucky for me, I had a nice long run with one of my running partners right after reading this article, and she is likely one of the few people in my circle of friends who could have had a serious discussion about Rand for over two miles!

My curiosity is piqued. I’m not going to go out of my way to pick up my next copy of one of Rand’s books, but if I come across any of her other titles while thrifting, I’ll have to buy it and read for myself. 

For me, the jury is still out on whether or not Ayn Rand is responsible for the selfishness of America and the justification of greed. It’s most interesting that Ayn Rand was born in Russia and immigrated to the US when she was twelve. How compelling that a feminine, atheist, Russian voice could be so influential on the conservative movement in America. That clinical psychologist certainly makes a worthwhile argument in favor of this opinion. 

Ah, the power of books.

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Have you read any books by Ayn Rand? What did you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

As always, I hope you all are safe and healthy.