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Rand was a strong pro-capitalist and thats great. HOWEVER,she was also an atheist as are Marxists.Both thus are believers in materialism and worship this ultimately false and unsatisfying god. Also,I don’t totally endorse the whole”virtues of selfishness”philosophy she extolled.Kindness and compassion are Christian tenets that separate us from lower life forms.And,NO,I’m not in favor of big government giveaways,just charitable acts on a church and individual level. The again,like the Stalinists of Russia from which she fled,Rand is very hostile to Christianity.

Rand was not a materialist and attacked the Soviets, on a regular basis, as not being pro-reason despite the Communists constant claims that theirs was a "scientific and rational" philosophy because of their materialism.

Selfishness, as defined by Rand as "rational selfishness" was not opposed to kindess and compassion. She was opposed to others having a right to force one to be compassionate, as in compulsory charity. Nobody in their right mind believes that people shouldn't be kind and compassionate. Rational selfishness is the idea that one needs to live their lives for themselves and for their highest values (family, community, or whatever one loves) without interference from others, especially government. It is not license to screw people over with immunity or even undue rudeness and it is not very different from what the founders of the United States wanted...Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Whatever your personal happiness entails is your business provided you aren't impeding on someone else's equal right to the same and it is not wrong to pursue it.