Ayn Rand/Objectivism/Atlas Shrugged
Ok - I bookmooched 'Atlas Shrugged' by Ayn Rand about a year ago (note - before it suddenly became trendy to read it due to the collapsing economy) and have recently started reading it. Amusing parallels with regards to socio/politico/economic collapse aside I have noticed an interesting side effect when I mention my reading choice to people.
A lot of people really seem to hate Ayn Rand.
Now I'm curious, because personally I had never really heard of her before I read an article which recommended reading AS. So far I'm not recoiling in horror at either her writing style nor the basic tenets of objectivism - would any of you care to explain quite why you dislike her so much? I don't intend to defend her point of view or get into a debate on the merits or otherwise of her philosophy (well, not yet anyhow - though given my mass debating tendencies I can't promise anything regarding the future...) but I would like to understand where the strong opposition comes from? Is it perhaps because you were forced to read her at school and therefore have the same feelings about her work as I do about 'As I Lay Dying' or 'Madame Bovary', or it is more of an ideological issue?
A lot of people really seem to hate Ayn Rand.
Now I'm curious, because personally I had never really heard of her before I read an article which recommended reading AS. So far I'm not recoiling in horror at either her writing style nor the basic tenets of objectivism - would any of you care to explain quite why you dislike her so much? I don't intend to defend her point of view or get into a debate on the merits or otherwise of her philosophy (well, not yet anyhow - though given my mass debating tendencies I can't promise anything regarding the future...) but I would like to understand where the strong opposition comes from? Is it perhaps because you were forced to read her at school and therefore have the same feelings about her work as I do about 'As I Lay Dying' or 'Madame Bovary', or it is more of an ideological issue?