Atlas Shrugged

Considering the Last Romantic

I loved Ayn Rand when I first read "Atlas Shrugged" but within six months I had already torn her premise of elite society apart. Her justifications for selfishness aside, Rand was writing nothing more but another rendition of the Nietzschean Übermensch. Elitism is a necessary element to society. Without an elite we wouldn't see the technological, artistic and simply human advancements that we have today. But where I differ with Rand is on the purpose and role the elite play. The elite should be like Nietzsche's Übermensch. The elite should be the masters of civilization and live beyond the good and evil of modern society. But being a master and living beyond traditional morality isn't so simple. Being a master means being a caretaker. You might hold dominion over lands and people but those same lands and people rule you. In a way, being a master is like the role government should play in the world. The government has only obligations to its citizens and the only rights a government has are ones necessary to fulfill those obligations. The only good and the only evil at this point are the good of life and the evil of death. Rand never mentioned anything about preserving life or the obligations of the master. Despite her love of the Romantics she failed to embody the artistic spirit that Nietzsche infused his Übermensch with. Creation was, and is, the ultimate good, if any good can be spoken of. Yet Rand was willing to lay waste to the world, much as the more bastardized versions of the Übermensch was meant to do.