Christian Conservatives and Randians

Written By: Mark Hendrickson  |  Posted: Tuesday, April 26th, 2011

            According to a 1991 Book of the Month Club / Library of Congress survey that asked what book had most influenced their lives, the two top picks by respondents were the Bible and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Coincidentally, this is a big week for both Christians and Randians. The former are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ; the latter, the long-awaited release of the film version of Atlas Shrugged (part one of three).

            On the eve of the film's April 15 release, I was half of a panel discussion on Atlas Shrugged at a gathering of young professionals in Pittsburgh. I focused on economic and political themes in Rand's writings. As a former socialist who now espouses genuine free-market capitalism (not today's counterfeit version), I esteem Atlas Shrugged as a brilliantly insightful work of politico-economic fiction. Rand's grim depiction of self-serving political opportunists progressively destroying the economic motor that sustains human life is uncannily accurate, astute, and timely, despite having been written over 50 years ago.

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