A leftist critique of the Fountainhead

I re-read Atlas Shrugged during quarantine, so now I’m going to analyze it from a leftist, pro-communist point of view. CW: rape mention.

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And yes, my neighbors were pounding on the walls while I was filming this. I tried to edit it out…

Sources:

Famous people who read her:

Fountainhead as an overture to Atlas Shrugged:

Wright and Rand’s relationship:

The Meyer May house:

A steel cage to hold up the roof:

Issues with Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings:

Stalin’s skyscrapers:

[Tyler-mmcj]

Personally I consider the one-dimensional main characters of the novel to be a part of the book's charm. They were distilled, concentrated versions of different characteristics each of us has. The exaggerated qualities of most of the characters served the book's purpose of introducing Rand's world view in an effective way. Rand has always occupied a weird place for me as I have noticed none of my other heroes across the spectrum have any respect for her or her thought at all and consider it quasi-philisophy at best. Nevertheless it was one of the first philosophical books I read as a child and it had an enormous impact on my interest in that sort of thing, and every few years I tend to revisit it and enjoy it. You do not need to be an objectivist to appreciate the basic theme of the book and to incorporate the best parts of it into your world view.

[MrRowntree]

Interesting description under the video. Have you considered reading the book from your perspective, as a human being? Rather than as an ideology?

[danielbrissenden]

I was sharing a house with three other roommates and was watching The Fountainhead on tv, when a roommate came in with a friend-- a guy in his forties. In no time, he got sucked into the unnatural dialogue and the look on his face got more and more bemused. Finally he said: "What the hell are we watching?" I used to like Ayn Rand, too. By this time, I was studying her work VERY critically....

[blakearmstrong]

I believe that she was an artist in every word she wrote, the reason she focused so much on individualism is because she was a Russian immigrant around the 1940’s and let me remind you, Russia is a collectivist country. After leaving the need to put everyone else’s needs before your own and seeing the beauty of independence and individualism here in the US is it not understandable that she writes about it so?

[williamchadwick]

"A heroic tale about a progressive architectural critic fighting against a selfish, reactionary architect."--The National State-Fellator

[House]

Look at how much opposition this video is getting. :) But, I guess it’s only okay to “stick to your guns” as long as you’re someone Objectivists approve of.

[KaranKatyayan]

You know how bad it is when someone mentions itself in title that it is a LeFtIst critique not even a critique on my own thoughts but an idealogy i follow😂

[helio]

Hi, I'm a fan of Ayn Rand and her work, the whole philosophy not just the novels. I don't agree with almost anything you said here, but I will just mention what stuck out to me most.

Firstly I liken the fountainhead to art, meaning it is a selective recreation of reality according to what the artist considers important. It's okay if people in your life don't go off on philosophical monologues all the time nor generally resemble the characters. It is not meant to show you reality as it is or give you a direct guide on how to live your life.

You make some argument that people have to work together for society to function. Okay, good for you, but Ayn Rand's ideas don't suggest people not work with each other. I would say individualism is primarily an ethical idea. It means that the individual's life is the standard of morality (as opposed to collectivist good of the group is the standard of morality), but it doesn't mean you should not cooperate with people. One thing I don't disagree with you about, you did fundamentally misunderstand her ideas and you still do.

You mention it being weird for Howard to work in a quarry and why can't he just do office work that he does not like in stead. Firstly, the manual work is not entirely new to him. The novel says he grew up doing construction work. Secondly, he did spend years doing office work for a company he didn't like as well. I don't understand why you act like he never worked in architecture in ways he disagreed with.

[baskey]

Everything youve saif here definetly has a basis, but it dosent translate to "so bad its funny" to me some of the creative decisions were funky and didnt make much sense, but as a whole I think ayn rand got a pretty alright point across.

[TheRiverLeW]

Fellow former Rand disciple here. Looking forward to the breakdown of Atlas.

[chrismulhern]

I agree with your analysis- well done !

A philosophy to fit the real world not a world to fit your philosophy

[korpen]

"Don't reinvent the wheel"
That's an odd analogy as the wheel was first a slab of round rock. Then it was slimmed down to a lighter wooden structure, then to a more durable and sturdier metal version which eventually allowed the industrial revolution to happen. After that it was reinvented again which allowed us commonfolk the freedom of owning personal means of transportation through cars. In 2018 Nasa reinvented it once more to allow it to be used on other planets with much different milieu than that of ours. Every time the wheel has been reinvented it seems to have revolutionised the world and made it better for everyone.

[jojpacovi]

The Fountainheads Hero struggles for the integrity of his creative work against every form of social opposition...something people like you will never understand.

[ELCLAVE]

I am big fan of Ayn Rand. Her philosophy is brilliant and is self evidently true. (Something leftist hate these days.) However, I could agree that her story telling wasn't the best. Hence, the reason why objectivism is widely misunderstood.

[bunnypeople]

Great analysis. Too bad the render ate your photo of the Polish building at the end 😝

[garyacker]

I want to see some examples of Roraks work! That's what frustrated me.

[maureenlas]

Rand and her family were starving in Europe as communism and antisemitism took over much of Russia.. If you are going to be flippant and snarky at least do your homework and research before you annoy a reader who knows her past struggles and deprivations.