( Dune was also great for that.) Even now, as I find all sorts of inadequacies with the Ender books, I can't help but retain a deep fondness for them, and will probably recommend them to my teenage kids.Īyn Rand's fantasy stories work the same way for young conservatives. Here was a book about a supersmart, supertalented kid who is recognized for it, whose skills are groomed and appreciated, and who eventually goes on to save the world. Works of fiction in which the main character unleashes our fantasies touches something deep.įor me as a geeky, bullied preteen, Ender's Game fulfilled this need. There is something in our souls that tells us that we are inadequate, that reminds us of our many failures and the ways the world fails to appreciate our precious gifts. Wish-fulfillment fantasies exert a powerful influence on us. In Ayn Rand's books, the main character is typically an implausibly awesome version of the person many conservatives would secretly like to be.

To that end, here are a few different perspectives on why so many conservatives like Ayn Rand.

But I also, unlike Rand, believe in the virtue of empathy, and have decided to apply it to people who like her work.

I hate nearly everything Rand stands for. To us, Rand's worldview is repellent, and the fact that her works are so widespread on the right is beyond annoying. She makes for a convenient punching bag for progressives, because she embodies the caricatured version of what progressives imagine conservatives really think: that egotism and greed are good and that the parasitic weak deserve to be trod upon by the capitalistic powerful.Īnd then there are people like me: Conservatives who view themselves as Christians first. You can understand why progressives enjoy blasting Rand's presumably nefarious influence on the conservative movement. And many of my liberal friends love to hate her. Many of my fellow conservatives love Ayn Rand.

I hate religion reddit