Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism

[bennyboy]

It's sounding more and more like she was without empathy then.

I think that's too simple.  She took the philosophical position that empathy is a weakness of character, that decisions should be made purely rationally and without regard to human emotion.  Specifically, she felt that capable people should maximize their capability in following their own great ambitions, without regard to those who might depend on her or be less capable.

It's basically a capitalist view on Machiavelli, I think.  And I wouldn't argue that she's necessarily wrong in this sense.  I just think that obviously many rich and powerful people in the US base their opinions and behaviors on her work, and that the result DOESN'T WORK out well, for them or for the nation.