# Ayn Rand ![[50 Resources/51 Attachments/51.03 Public/2026-05-04 Ayn Rand.jpg|400]] Ayn Rand (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; February 2, 1905 – March 6, 1982) was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system she named [[Objectivism]]. Born and educated in Russia, Rand experienced the Russian Revolution and Bolshevik rule, which profoundly shaped her worldview. She moved to the United States in 1926 and became an American citizen in 1931. After two early novels and Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame with her 1943 novel "The Fountainhead." In 1957, she published her best-selling work, "Atlas Shrugged." Rand advocated reason and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism as opposed to altruism, and in politics, she condemned the initiation of force as immoral and supported laissez-faire capitalism. Her philosophy emphasized individual rights, including private property rights, and she promoted romantic realism in art. Rand's books have sold over 37 million copies. While her fiction received mixed reviews from literary critics, and academic philosophers have generally rejected her philosophy, her writings have significantly influenced libertarians and conservatives. The Objectivist movement continues to circulate her ideas both publicly and in academic settings. ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Ayn Rand]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Ayn Rand]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver]] - [[The question isn't who is going to let me. It's who is going to stop me]] - [[Value is that which one acts to gain and keep]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #books AND [[Ayn Rand]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #books AND [[Ayn Rand]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[Atlas Shrugged (book)]] <!-- SerializedQuery END -->