Re: The REAL pop 100 -Reply
Cheryl Cline (ccline@uclink4.berkeley.edu)
Fri, 24 Jul 1998 11:37:12 -0700
dm (Daniel Mahanty) wrote:
> > Splendid company, indeed. Personal fascism and fantasy fiction.
> >Catcher in the Rye is about fascism?
> I think he meant Ayn Rand was a fascist and the Hobbit is fantasy fiction.
For God's sake, give me some credit. I knew that "personal fascism"
referred to Atlas Shrugged. (I knew I should have added the smiley face
after my question, but it violates my principles to use those...) I was
just objecting to the use of the word fascist to describe Ayn Rand.
> To comment on _Atlas Shrugged_ and _Catcher; I'm not sure which is
> which, but I've heard rumors that one is an extraordinarily insightful and
> well prepared novel, and the other is the precariously oversimplistic, if
> not well written, porn credo for "libertarians" and econ majors of the
> public choice school.
Rand's works are more political documents than novels, but they are far
from fascist. The idea is probably making Rand turn in her grave. Yes,
they are the darlings of many an econ major, but I don't condemn them
quite as harshly as you do. I wouldn't know where to place her books on
a "Best Novels of the 20th Century" list, but who wants to deal with
those stupid things in the first place?
I'd instinctively place Salinger higher than Rand anyway, but since I
obviously don't know the difference between Nine Stories and, say, The
Fountainhead, my judgment probably can't be trusted... :) (gag)
Cheryl