Ayn Rand produced strident, if often pedantic works on individual freedom and rights, the pursuit of happiness, and the moral 
superiority of laissez-faire capitalism as a social system. She proposed a moral system based on rational self interest and developed her own philosophy of Objectivism, which she communicated through her novels, most famously The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Her ideas remain popular today with libertarians and the Tea Party movement. In popular culture, Betram Cooper of Mad Men advises the lead character, Dan
Draper, to read Atlas Shrugged. Most commentary on Rand’s work has focused on the social sphere, but one author recently described her own experiences with Ayn Rand’s philosophy as applied to the more fundamental institution of the family. This is an interesting test of morality, by exploring its application across social spheres and relationships. Assuming that Rand considered the principles of Objectivism to be universal rather than particular then, arguably, such a moral system should not be conditional. Of course, every moral system allows for violations – take for example the concept of ‘just war’. But these violations represent rare and unusual circumstances. ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
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