Ayn Rand was the Russian-born American writer and philosopher, best known as the author of the philosophy of objectivism and the author of two timeless novels, “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged” – one of the most impactful books of the 20th century.
Her philosophy and points of view influenced 20th-century thinkers and beyond, stimulating the general debate on individualism, rational selfishness, and human responsibility.
Ayn emphasized the crucial role of individuals that have to reach their goals, potential, and happiness within themselves, not being reliant on others. She proposed the concept of man as a heroic being with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life. Additionally, his productive achievements are his noblest activity and Reason the only absolute guidance in the objective reality.
Rand was skeptical about institutions, often questioning their legitimacy, instead, she encouraged individuals to be independent and build bottom-up initiatives from scratch. Additionally, she was trying to avoid the wisdom of the crowds and what’s interesting is that she considered the Founding Fathers as heroes as they built a country based on individual rights.
“The Right to the Pursuit of Happiness means man’s right to live for himself, to choose what constitutes his own private, personal, individual happiness and to work for its achievement, so long as he respects the same right in others.”
I think that the above-mentioned quote grasps her philosophy pretty well and is a good foundation for conveying the idea of Ayn Rand’s ideas. The Right to pursue Happiness is the essence of Objectivism philosophy.
The 20th-century thought-provoking contrarian encouraged individuals to perceive reality by the power of reason, to have a purpose and strive to achieve personal happiness by productive achievement, and above all to have self-esteem, which she considered at the base level as the love for oneself.
