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Ayn Rand is a psychotic nutjob on par with Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter, although Rand knows how to write.
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<p>The lady doth protests too much methinks.</p>
<p>I can't agree with a single thing you just said. IMO, Ayn Rand is a terrible writer-it's not all her fault, Russian was her first language-but a half decent thinker. Her ideas about second hand and first hand lives do grasp at the notions of Nietzsche's ubermench and last man, and her conceptualization of the effects of the self, the all powerful and undying sense of what being is, on humanity are certainly inspired. The Fountainhead is, in essence, an affirmation humanity in and of itself; Roark doesn't need to seek value in the opinions and the machinations of others, his achievements stand up by themselves, regardless as to what perception is. It is a testament to the glory of the individual in face of the mindless collective; it is the glory of creation for itself. For someone convinced of the glories of materialism, Rand's philosophy highlights the extra-material glories of creation. Roark does not care about the financial or the popular; his vision is as uncompromising as he is. </p>
<p>But, Rand does rely far too often on clich</p>