I was somewhat shocked to see NZCPR promote Ayn Rand’s books. Maybe because it is right wing. But…

Have you read her writings? Do you support her and why?

For a period of time in January, “Atlas” outsold President Barack Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope” and landed squarely in the top 30 books on Amazon.com. As a matter of fact, sales of the popular objectivist allegory peaked last as work on the latest stimulus plan began to receive mass press coverage in mid-January.

For those who don’t know, “Atlas Shrugged” relates the tale of a group of highly intelligent inventors, businessmen, and industrialists, led by one John Galt, who abandon a more-or-less socialist society that has been tormenting them with absurdly burdensome taxes and regulations. Eventually, the socialist society breaks down and begs them to return, under their own terms. It’s worth noting that, among American investors & CEO’s polled, “Atlas Shrugged” ranks as their most influential book, next to the Bible.

So, what gives? Why has objectivism suddenly become so popular in a nation suddenly made safe for the New World Deal? Don’t say it’s “evil Republicans” plotting, because, frankly, Rand’s blatant atheism can’t sit that well with the religious right. …And the feud between mainstream Libertarians and Rand-heads is well known.

So I guess the left are picking up the book also.