The New York Times (”Ayn Rand’s Literature of Capitalism,” by Harriet Rubin) takes a 50th-anniversary look at “one of the most influential business books ever written”: Atlas Shrugged. One of its most influential fans? Alan Greenspan, whose own book will come out on Monday. The former Fed chairman even played the role of book critic, sort of, when his beloved homage to Objectivism came under attack:
Shortly after "Atlas Shrugged" was published in 1957, Mr. Greenspan wrote a letter to The New York Times to counter a critic’s comment that "the book was written out of hate." Mr. Greenspan wrote: " ‘Atlas Shrugged’ is a celebration of life and happiness. Justice is unrelenting. Creative individuals and undeviating purpose and rationality achieve joy and fulfillment. Parasites who persistently avoid either purpose or reason perish as they should."
Yikes. I’m not sure what scares me more, his sentiment or his English. Good thing he never reached a position where his philosophy had an impact on real people. Oh, wait.
