"Ayn Rand's Revenge" - NYTimes Book Review of new Rand biography

Re:"Ayn Rand's Revenge" - NYTimes Book Review of new Rand bi... by saturnine on Saturday October 31, 2009 @02:50PM (#913867)

"... if she gave up 7 cents per copy in royalties, she could have the extra paper needed to print Galt’s oration. That she agreed is a sign of the great contradiction that haunts her writing and especially her life."

Nonsense. She may just as well have concluded that adulterating her work would have made it less potent and thus reduced its impact, resulting in fewer sales.

That the reviewer believes conceding to accept less money in the short term contradicts capitalism betrays his or her understanding of capitalism.

Disclosure: I've never read any of Rand's writings.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:"Ayn Rand's Revenge" - NYTimes Book Review of new Rand bi... by gaius on Saturday October 31, 2009 @05:55PM (#914201)

Rand's ideas are about maximizing personal freedom, with money only a means to that end. Most of the characters in Atlas Shrugged give up fortunes that they've either earned or inherited when they realize that holding onto them limits their personal freedom. So there is actually no contradiction at all.

[ Parent | on HN ]