There's Alot to Shrug About

Ayn Rand is a hero of libertarians. I first read her in high school starting with Atlas Shrugged and The Virtue of Selfishness and was very intrigued by her ideas. At the time, I was also a very new Christian and did not have a real background to evaluate her claims from a faith perspective. Although I still tend to be somewhat libertarian, a Christian has to be careful with Rand because she is definitely not coming from a Christian perspective.

The new Christianity Today has a good article about Rand by Gary Moore that quotes her own description of her philosophy as centered on:

"...the concept of man as a noble being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."

www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/september/2.36.html

It does not take long to critique this philosophy from a Christian perspective. Man is fallen and his nobility is long since gone. The moral purpose of man's life is not his own happiness but serving God. Productive achievement can be noble but it depends on the end and the motive. Finally, reason is clearly not the only absolute - faith is higher up the hierarchy and love even higher than faith.

Although her views are useful because a generally free economic system is more likely to produce more fruits for everyone, it is how individuals do this and to what end the fruits are put that are more crucial. As Christians, we are called upon to help the poor and share with those who are less fortunate, so while it's fine to go ahead and shrug with Atlas occasionally, be informed by your faith in all things, including economics and political philosophy, and let God be your guide.