Ayn Rand

Alice OConnor born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum February 2 OS January 20 1905 March 6 1982 better known by her pen name Ayn Rand was a Russianborn American writer and philosopher She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system she named Objectivism Born and educated in Russia she moved to the United States in 1926 After two early novels that were initially unsuccessful and two Broadway plays she achieved fame with her 1943 novel The Fountainhead In 1957 Rand published her bestknown work the novel Atlas Shrugged Afterward until her death in 1982 she turned to nonfiction to promote her philosophy publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays Rand advocated reason as the only means of acquiring knowledge she rejected faith and religion She supported rational and ethical egoism and rejected altruism In politics she condemned the initiation of force as immoral and opposed collectivism statism and anarchism Instead she supported laissezfaire capitalism which she defined as the system based on recognizing individual rights including private property rights Although Rand opposed libertarianism which she viewed as anarchism she is often associated with the modern libertarian movement in the United States In art Rand promoted romantic realism She was sharply critical of most philosophers and philosophical traditions known to her except for Aristotle Thomas Aquinas and classical liberals Rands fiction received mixed reviews from literary critics Although academic interest in her ideas has grown since her death academic philosophers have generally ignored or rejected her philosophy because of her polemical approach and lack of methodological rigor Her writings have politically influenced some libertarians and conservatives The Objectivist movement attempts to spread her ideas both to the public and in academic settings Description above from the Wikipedia article Ayn Rand licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia