Celebrating 120 Years of Ayn Rand

Love Her or Hate Her, You Can’t Ignore Her Legacy

by Ogechukwu Egwuatu

People usually have strong feelings about Rand. They either adore her or hate her. If you’re somewhere in the middle, or don’t even know who she is—gasp—here is why her legacy is so important.

Ayn Rand was born on this day 120 years ago in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Happy birthday, Ayn Rand! She lived through the Bolshevik Revolution as a child, which strongly shaped her world view. At the age of 21, she fled to the US where she started her decades-long writing career, and became a champion of individual rights, reason, and capitalism.

Rand was first and foremost a novelist, and she sought to express her philosophy through her written work. But she is by far not the first nor last to do so. So what makes her special? Rand wanted to give concrete form to her ideas, to bring her vision to life in a way that could only be achieved through a fully developed philosophical system. So she spent years meticulously refining her philosophy – Objectivism. 

“Since my purpose is the presentation of an ideal man, I had to define and present the conditions which make him possible and which his existence requires. Since man’s character is the product of his premises, I had to define and present the kind of premises and values that create the character of an ideal man and motivate his actions; which means that I had to define and present a rational code of ethics.” – The Goal of My Writing, from The Romantic Manifesto

Rand wrote a lot of fiction and non-fiction but all of her work was aimed at describing the ideal man. Who is this ideal man? To answer that, we first have to answer another question, who is John Galt?

Who is John Galt?

Picture this: a society where innovation is punished, where the most competent individuals are shackled by regulations, and where the creative minds that drive civilization forward are vilified instead of celebrated. Does this seem familiar to you? Yes, it’s all fiction. In the novel Atlas Shrugged, John Galt is the man who refuses to accept this fate. He represents the embodiment of Rand’s ideal—the individual who lives by reason, who refuses to be sacrificed for the collective, and who, in response to a world that scorns him, simply walks away. 

John Galt is not alone in Rand’s literary universe. Before him, there was Howard Roark, the fiercely independent architect in The Fountainhead, who refuses to compromise his artistic vision for the sake of convention. Both characters embody Rand’s philosophical vision of Objectivism. Objectivism asserts that reality exists independent of perception and that human beings must use reason as their only means of acquiring knowledge. It rejects faith, collectivism, and altruism, arguing instead that individuals should pursue their rational self-interest as their highest moral purpose. Politically, Objectivism champions laissez-faire capitalism as the only system that allows individuals to trade freely and achieve their full potential without coercion. In Rand’s view, the ideal society is one where the government exists solely to protect individual rights, not to redistribute wealth or regulate the economy.

In a nutshell, Rand championed reason, individualism, and capitalism at a time when these ideas were under siege. Beyond her antics and penchant for calling everyone “evil”, she made a great impact on the freedom movement. She kickstarted a whole philosophical movement—Objectivism. Let’s not forget her contributions to the libertarian movement through her influence on figures like Leonard Read despite the fact that she disdained libertarianism. Love her or hate her, her influence is undeniable. And that’s why, even 120 years after her birth, we’re still talking about Ayn Rand.

So in honour of Rand this month, pick up a copy of The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged and read it. If you’re like me and you prefer your philosophy and politics in non-fiction, check out Philosophy Who Needs It or The Virtue of Selfishness and definitely all our Rand curated content this month. While you’re at it, don’t forget to wish Rand a happy birthday.

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