Ayn Rand, the famous objectivist philosopher, is in the news again. Paul Ryan the vice presidential pick for Romney in the US has included Rand as one of his influences. What makes that interesting, is that while Rand was very much a rugged individualist and capitalist, she was also a militant atheist. Ryan has repudiated some of what Rand stands for but, still, the influence is there.
I personally found Rand to be far too right wing and while she has some good points (what philosopher does not), I much prefer the existentialism of a Kierkegaard or Berdyaeve who I admire much more.
At any rate, Wallace does a good job of interviewing Rand. Given how ideological the presidential campaign is gearing up to be, it is a good idea to get a sense of some of the philosophical influences of some of the main candidates.
I personally found Rand to be far too right wing and while she has some good points (what philosopher does not), I much prefer the existentialism of a Kierkegaard or Berdyaeve who I admire much more.
At any rate, Wallace does a good job of interviewing Rand. Given how ideological the presidential campaign is gearing up to be, it is a good idea to get a sense of some of the philosophical influences of some of the main candidates.
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