Well said, Obdicut! Ayn Rand’s novels are extraordinary; I’ve been inspired by them for 40 years now. I see her main motivator as hatred for the Soviet Union. I think this helps to explain her sometimes-bizzare professional and personal choices. She had a battle to fight, for capitalism and against communism, and very specifically against her native USSR. This meant a lot to her, and I admire how well she did.

This seems like a strange change of subject, but your post on Ayn Rand made me think of Obama’s second book The Audacity of Hope. Like Rand’s writings, The Audacity of Hope lays out a very comprehensive perspective on many areas of human life. Believe it or not, I think that Atlas Shrugged and The Audacity of Hope are “complementary”: 2 very different, and 2 very ambitious books.