It still amazes me that people flock to Ayn Rand like they do. I've read a couple of her books, and while there is a certain appeal to it (mostly the complaining about government inefficiency for me) it astounds me that people list her as their favorite/most influenced by writer.

In my opinion one of the things that has made America successful is altruism. Across the board (left, right, middle) if you ask voters they will agree with the concept of altruism in government. Sacrificing for the greater good. Ayn Rand treats altruism as categorically evil. It seems to me that most people who "love" Ayn Rand have never read a whole book by her.

As my final point, I do agree with some of her gripes with government. In government bureaucracy often acts inefficiently. It's not who does the best work, but who plays the political game the best. Even in places that are supposed to be results-oriented like NASA or the CIA, who you know and how well you play the game often gets people the high positions. But that's kinda true wherever you go.

The entirety of her message is entirely unpalatable for me though. "Being selfish is the best thing you can do" is essentially her point. Atlas Shrugged is wholly against charity of any kind. It's against altruism of any kind. The fact that people claim to be Christians and fans of Ayn Rand baffles me daily.