AYN RAND: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

I pose a series of questions about Ayn Rand and her political-economic philosophy and attempt to respond to them. On most occasions my views are congruent with hers; but not on all of them. Why is it important that the views of this author be scrutinized? That is because, with her novels and non-fiction works, she had a wildly disproportionate effect on world public policy. She did more than pretty much anyone else on the planet to promote private property rights, free enterprise, and laissez-fair capitalism. Her main vehicle, her main contribution to the limited government philosophy was her 1957 book, "Atlas Shrugged" (which is still briskly selling, more than a half-century later). This novel tells the tale of the real contributors to the economy: not workers, but, rather, employers; businessmen, capitalists, inventors, and investors. We all know what happens when employees go on strike: there is vast chaos. This book is certainly the first, and perhaps, still, the only on to trace out what happens when entrepreneurs withdraw their labor. Spoiler alert: it is not pretty.