i wonder if my understanding of books when i was 15 is the same as it is now that i'm a big boy.Anyone who has reached the middle of Atlas Shrugged must have noticed that Rand is repeating herself. By the time you finish it, the 'key' statements of Rand's 'philosophy' will each have been repeated 10 times or more, employing exactly the same language, as if Rand is plagarizing herself.
Rand's philosophy is weak because 1) it's old - it's social darwinism painted a nice modern industrial gray, and 2) it is thin - thus the repetition. For the majority of us, who do not have the skill to invent new industrial processes and are unlikely to become captains of industry, Rand's philosophy is empty and dismissive. One does not need a philosophy to be a cog in the machine that runs the world. One needs to fulfill one's function, to be a tool for the use of those better equipped to decide what kind of life is the right one.
It has always seemed to me that the attraction of Rand's novels lay in the way she described sexual dominance and submission, making the subject acceptable for the reading public of the late 40s and 50s. I imagine it was largely this that made her an icon at the time; interestingly, it was the last thing her public would openly identify as attractive. They preferred to talk about a barely existent "philosophy". Again, in this regard she repeats herself endlessly - the heroine spends the whole story alternately crushing weaklings underfoot and melting in adoration of strong men.
It probably did Rand no harm that her books are flattering to economically successful white men.
I read Atlas Shrugged when I was 15 years old, and enjoyed it, the same way I enjoyed When Worlds Collide at the same time, as a period science fiction piece. That age is just about right for a reader of the book. "Philosophy" aside, the novel is weak because it's about 550 pages too long and has almost no story. When Worlds Collide has actually stood the test of time better.
the book has no story?? 550 pages too long?
'flattering to economically successful white men." yeah, it's time for me to go now.