Read it when young as well, though I was luckily enough to read a quick bio of her. Escaped Communism, worked in Hollywood.
Felt that this was more a rant about trying to be passionate when stuck in a system, be it the horrible Communist system, or an uncaring bureaucratic one.
Right, like that’s definitely a read of it. That’s kind of what I was getting it in that the philosophy makes sense in the world she created, it just doesn’t have all that much in common with the real world.
That take makes sense, but it’s definitely not what the author intended. She very much wanted it to be applied to modern times. Whether or not you can separate the authors intent from the book itself involves some “death of the author” type conversations that, despite knowing some $5 lit terms, I’m not super versed in. Even then, I think the energy is better spent on more interesting examples, like how “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” kind of changed significance over time.
I’m close with a family that lived through the collapse of the USSR. Based on what I’ve heard alone, Rand’s reaction is really understandable in my opinion. It doesn’t make it correct, but I do get the reaction.
